


The Bike Thief

by sanashi27



Category: South Park
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Might be OOC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15285675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanashi27/pseuds/sanashi27
Summary: Craig the delinquent needs to get home before it becomes really late at night so he steals a kid's bike. Well, tries at least.He successfully and unknowingly steals something unexpected though.





	1. #1: The Misadventure of Craig the Delinquent

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by this [video](https://9gag.com/gag/aOrYR5r). I know nothing about cars though and being an adult lol so they're still kids and it'a a bike instead.
> 
> Why did I make this? Idk. I was bored and this has been on my mind in a while so yeah.

With both hands in his pockets and an indifferent to annoyed look on his face, everyone knows not to mess with Craig Tucker - a delinquent who can back his talks with action. He glares at anyone caught staring and flips off anyone who tries to say something and you’re lucky if that’s all you get cause he’s been known to beat kids up whenever he finds something about them that annoys him.

Contrary to popular belief though, Craig doesn’t like the attention nor does he like the trouble he gets into for being a ‘bad boy’ - he just doesn’t have enough patience for stupid people and likes that his reputation gets him things like peace for example. No one bothers you when they’re scared of you.

Walking through the empty park, Craig looks up to the sky and even without a watch to tell him time, he can tell that it’s already late afternoon. If he walked home right now he’ll just get there at night. With no money in his pocket to ride a bus, he has no other choice - either he walks, or he steals another mode of transportation.

He looks for any skateboard laying around to swipe but it seems other kids have already left taking their things with them. Luckily for him though, a nearby lamppost has a bike chained to it. He smirks and casually walks toward it, glancing from side to side just in case it’s owner or a guard shows up. When he got close, he fishes out a bobby pin from his pocket and picks the lock open. He smiles at how easy it is and takes the chain off, hops on the bike and places his feet on the pedal.

“Gah!” he hears a scream coming closer “That’s my bike! Don’t take it!”

Before Craig could pedal, the bike’s owner had already quickly grabbed onto the back of the bike (and surprisingly strongly at that) stopping Craig from advancing and nearly making him fall. He grabs the pole to help himself stay up. “Let go! I’m taking your stupid bike!”

“No! I need it!” the blond boy said adamantly, grabbing hold of the bike’s handle “I still have deliveries to make!”

“I don’t give a f*ck!” Craig said turning the bike to one side trying to get the blond to let go of his hold “If you keep complaining, I’ll punch you.”

“Gah!” the other boy shrieked as his shaking worsens, finally letting go of the bike and taking a step back “Uh- but I…” he sighs nervously “C-can I at least get my deliveries off? You can’t take them! Ah-I’d get in trouble if I don’t get them to their destination. My parents’ will kill me!”

Craig looks to the bike’s front basket and sees 2 large paper bags with a coffee shop logo in front of them. He clicks his tongue in annoyance “Whatever, just take ‘em!”

  
The blonde nervously walked towards the front of the bike slowly, seemingly twitching as he slowly reached out to the bags in the basket. He glances at Craig for a few seconds, probably seeing if the taller boy would attack or something. When he was sure Craig wouldn’t do anything, he stepped closer to the bike and carefully took the bags out and carried them in his arms. Stepping back, he let Craig pedal away.

He knows he should just go on forward and not look back. At all. But for some reason, curiosity gets the best of him. Craig stops pedaling and looks back - there’s definitely a bit of a distance between them but the other boy could catch up if he runs. The blond looks dejected as he carries the bags with a bit of trouble as he tried to get his phone out to check something (probably the address of the deliveries).

He watches as the boy carry the bags with both arms and nearly tripping as he couldn’t see what’s in front of him properly. The blond was able to stand properly without dropping anything but the near accident left him screaming in frustration and panic. Even from the distance, Craig can hear the boy’s words of ‘What am I gonna do?!’.

Craig really should leave. He has no reason to stay here and the blond’s voice is starting to tick him off. But for some odd and unfathomable reason, he couldn’t help but think of what the rest of the day would be for this poor kid whose delivering bags of food somewhere on foot. It’s probably not gonna be easy and with his luck would probably mess it up somewhere. And someday he’s gonna blame Craig for it.

Craig sighs. It’s none of his business and he doesn’t care at all. He’s Craig ‘I-don’t -give-a-f*ck’ Tucker. He looks to the road in front of him and gets ready to pedal the bike again.

Until he hears the boy cry.

Turning around, he sees the boy already a bit far away from where he last saw him. The blond is shaking as he’s sitting on his ass while clutching the bags that’s nearly falling from his grip. Looking at the road in front of the boy, it seems that he had slipped because of a cola spill he stepped on unknowingly. The boy stayed like that for a while longer, tears spilling from his eyes. The shock of the fall must’ve been the final straw for him that made his frustrations come out. After a while, he seemed to have gotten over it as he placed the bags on the dry concrete on his side.

“Oh god, oh god! Please be okay.” he says as he wiped his eyes with his sleeves and checked the insides. Craig sees the boy sigh in relief which meant nothing got destroyed. The boy tries to hold both bags with his arms again as he slowly and carefully stood up and started to walk, avoiding the cola puddle. The blond glanced at Craig (and the bike) a bit when he passed him by.

Craig watched as the boy walked past him and onto the crossroad, looking at his left and right to watch out for passing cars. The tall boy starts to pedal again, the boy he was looking at earlier already leaving which meant there’s nothing more to see. Before he could get to the other side of the road, he looks back once more at the blond as he grips the bike’s handlebars and takes a deep breath.

“Gah!” the boy shrieks again, jumping slightly in shock and nearly dropping his things. Right in front of him is his bike and the boy who stole it from him earlier. He shook as he eyed Craig “W-what do you want? I don’t have anything else on me!”

Craig looks up, pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs “Where are you taking those?”

“W-what?”

“Where are those gonna be delivered? Are they close by?” Craig asked again

“Uh w-w… um, y-yeah. T-this ones a couple of blocks from here b-but the other one is a bit far from here-”

“Get on.”

“Excuse me?”

Craig tilts his head and gestures towards the basket “Put those bags in the basket and get on. I’ll help you with your deliveries.”

“Huh? But why? I thought you’re gonna steal my bike…” the blond tightens his grip on the bags as he looks at Craig suspiciously, not understanding the tall boy’s offer.

  
“It doesn’t matter. You want help or not? It’s gonna be late, soon.”

“Gah!” the blond yells again as realization hit him “I have to get these delivered soon or I’ll get in trouble.” he looks at Craig again in contemplation but the urgency forced him to just comply. He places the bags quickly but properly on the basket making sure that they’re staying upright.

“What are in those anyways?” Craig asks

“Oh, um, coffee and some pastries like cupcakes and stuff. The coffee is tightly closed with a lid and luckily they didn’t spill when I fell earlier but I still gotta be careful.” he replies as he sits at the backseat of the bike, gripping the back of Craig’s blue jacket.

“You’re gonna fall if you hold on like that. Put your hands around me or something.” Craig says, his foot already on the pedal. He waits until the blond does as he says.

“What-- oh…” the blond tentatively does as told and wraps his arms around Craig while still trying to keep a distance between their bodies as much as he could. Craig blushes and looks toward the front away from the other boy hoping his face couldn’t be seen. It’s not like he wants this. This is gay, like, totally and he wishes no one would see it but he’d rather not be the cause of someone’s death. That’s going too far. He’s a delinquent, not a murderer.

He started to pedal quickly, wanting to get things over with forcing the blond to hold onto him tighter. “Turn left!” the blond yells out. Craig followed the directions the other boy had been giving until they got to a row of houses and was told to stop near the blue one. The blond got off, took the bag with the correct contents and went over to the front of the house to ring the bell. The taller boy didn’t see the need to go with the other and just watches as the transaction take place.

He couldn’t hear them properly but he can tell the blond is apologizing to the man who answered the door for being late. The old man didn’t seem to mind though as he just dismissed the kid’s concerns and just took the paper bag from him.

The blond walks back to him after being paid. “Okay, um, we have to go back to that one intersection cause t-the other house is in another direction.” the boy shrinks back a bit assuming Craig would lash out or get mad at having to go somewhere farther but the taller boy didn’t say a word and just gestured for him to sit at the back again.

Craig sighs and placed his feet on the pedal as the blond sits back on the bike and holds onto him again, wrapping his arms around Craig and this time, without being told. The blond gives him another set of instructions until they got to the other house. Craig watches as the other boy makes the last delivery before walking back to him.

“I’m so glad none of them got mad from me being late! I was so scared they were gonna beat me up cause their coffee got cold or something!” the boy stops and looks at Craig before clearing his throat and looking away “Um, so…?”

“Hop on. I’ll take you back to your shop and then I’ll leave and take the bike with me.” Craig answers the boy’s unsaid question. The blond’s face held surprise at first before morphing onto one with a small smile of relief. Craig looks away not knowing how to feel about it. On one hand, it was weird and stupid. He was stealing this kid’s bike like, what idiot would smile at anything in a situation like this? On the other hand, at the very back of his mind is something he really doesn’t want to address - that smile was pretty cute.

Craig shook his head and asked for directions. Trying to push away the strange thoughts in his head and trying to reason that the fast beating of his heart was just due to how exhausting all this biking from place to place is.

The blond told Craig where his family’s coffee shop is (hearing that finally answered the question of why a kid like him is working at this age) and then they started biking quietly. Craig was somewhat exhausted already and so didn’t even try to go fast making the ride feel a little calming with the cold night breeze and the dark sky already lit with stars. Street lights are already up making him bike on the pedestrian lanes to make sure they were seen and not accidentally hit by any other moving vehicle. He’s had enough trouble for today.

Craig stops biking for a while to look up and smile a bit - he loves looking at the starry sky even when not all are visible due to the lights in town. He makes a mental note of getting his telescope out later to have a better look.

“They’re so pretty.” he hears the blond mutter behind him “Too bad most of them can’t be seen.”

“Y-yeah…” Craig mutters. Surprised that the kid on his back (whose hold on him lessened a bit) would start talking to him.

“Ah, um…!” the blond says nervously, not knowing what else to say. He probably didn’t know Craig would answer “You, uh, like looking at the stars? I mean, I’m sorry you don’t have to answer that I just--”

Craig goes quiet for a moment before putting his feet back on the pedals and biked again “I do actually. You?” he adds, cursing himself internally. Why was he asking? It’s not like he cares and all.

“Um, kind of. I do think they’re pretty but I’m also sort of scared.” the boy answers and Craig listens quietly “I mean, what if one of those stars isn’t actually a star but an alien ship? Oh, god! What if they’re planning to kidnap us?!”

“Pfft-” Craig covers his mouth and tried hard not to laugh at the other boy’s admission. Not that he didn’t believe in aliens (if a planet like Earth that could support life exist, there must be another one out there in existence as well) but that kind of fear about alien abduction is too childish and weird to voice out in public.

“Don’t laugh!” the boy protested.

_‘Oh, so he heard me.’_ Craig thought.

“Aliens are real, man! I mean, we all live in this planet so they probably live somewhere out there on their own, too!”

“I know. I believe that, too.” Craig admits “But ‘alien abduction’, really?” he says with a laugh “You’re not embarrassed at all to say that?”

“Why not? I mean they could want to experiment on us or something. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

“Right.” Craig replies “But the only other people to believe that are nutjobs.”

“Hey!” The boy let one of his arms go of his grip to hit Craig’s back lightly “Don’t make fun of me. Hmph.” even when he couldn’t see it, he can tell the boy is pouting as he wraps his arm around Craig again.

_“I didn’t say I don’t believe you.”_ he mutters quietly to himself wondering if the blond still heard it. They went onwards and even when the bike was slow, the arms around him didn’t loosen and he can still feel the warmth of the person leaning on his back.

When they finally got back to the shop, it was already late at night. Craig reads the huge sign up front that says ‘Tweek Bros. Coffee House’. _Strange name_ , he thinks but doesn’t comment on it. The blond gets off and looks at him and the bike once last time with a bit of hesitation before wordlessly turning around to walk back to the establishment. It was Craig’s cue to leave and so he turns away and starts to pedal.

“Son, where we’re you? Your mother was worried you got lost.”

Craig stops as he hears another voice. Turning around, he sees the blond talking to an older man with brown-ish hair who he supposed is the other kid’s dad even though they kind of didn’t look alike in his opinion.

“Yeah, uh, stuff happened… but I did the deliveries just fine!” the boy says then pulls out the payments from his pocket and hand them over to his father.

Craig was surprised the boy didn’t say anything about his bike cause if there’s any time to say it to an adult; it’s at this moment when he’s still here with the aforementioned item. Had the blond said anything, his dad could’ve easily gotten the bike back from him. He waited a bit in curiosity (even though the thought should’ve been a warning) but to his luck, the other boy strangely doesn’t bring it up nor do they notice Craig with their son’s bike.

“Well, that’s great! Good job, son.” the man pats the boy on the shoulder “This delivery thing is really great for the coffee business. Keep it up.”

“Good job, sweetie!” a woman comes out of the shop and says as she walks toward the two. She was beautiful and gentle-looking and Craig thinks she’s probably where the blond got his looks from (he shakes his head not wanting to elaborate on that thought). “Well, mommy has to go home and make dinner now, so me and your dad are gonna go.”

“Here are the keys. You got back late so you still have a couple of other jobs you need to finish first before getting home. Lock up before you leave okay?”

“But-!” the blond wanted to protest but just sighs and accepts the keys. His mother gives him a kiss on the cheek as her husband takes their car and opens the door for her.

  
“See you later, sweetie!” his mother said “Be careful on your way home.”

The boy just stood there and watched as his parents started their car and soon left him alone. The boy slowly goes inside the shop and flips the ‘OPEN’ sign in front to ‘CLOSE’.

Craig is a little miffed. What kind of parents just leave their under aged kid to lock up shop by himself? Plus even if the kid had a bike, it’s pretty late and any kid should be accompanied by a parent at this time (except him, he mentally notes, because he’s stronger than most kids. He’s no weakling after all). Looking down at the bike he’s riding, it’s kind of hard to admit but he does feel a little bad - just a little - as this meant the kid would have to walk home on his own and that’s pretty dangerous.

Craig bikes toward the shop and parks the bicycle close by before getting off and entering. The bell at the door jingles as he opens it making the boy run out from the back door.  
“I’m sorry, the shop is clo- oh…” the boy stares at him in confusion “Um, did you forget something?” he thinks for a moment and before Craig could speak, he opens his mouth once more “Do you want the lock and chain, too? I still have them and--”

Craig rubs the back of his head and awkwardly stands near the door as he cuts the blond off “Not that. I-- what do you need done here? I’ll help you.”

“Huh… wha- what did you--?”

“I’m not gonna repeat myself. Just tell me what you need done.”

“Gah! Oh, uh--” the boy panics as he looks around the shop. He grabs a washcloth and spray bottle from the back of the counter and walks toward the taller boy “Um, wipe the tables and put the chairs on top of them after but uh, upside-down--”

“I know how to do that.” Craig says as he grabs the cloth and bottle from the other and started wiping the tables from one side of the shop “Where do I put the trash?” he says, holding up a paper cup left behind.

“Oh, here--” he replies, grabbing a large plastic bag from behind the counter as well “Just place them here and I’ll put them with the rest of the trash. And here are gloves.” he says as he hands both items to Craig. He stands there looking like he still has something to say but closes his mouth instead and walks toward the back door. “I-I’ll be cleaning up the back for a bit, so uh, w-wait here.”

Craig nods and goes back to work.

As he wiped the rest of the tables and turned over the chairs, he contemplates the reason as to why exactly he’s here, in this shop wiping tables in the middle of the night and helping some poor kid he was just supposed to steal a bike from. He got himself roped into helping the boy deliver coffee and pastries to god knows who, gets the kid safely back to the coffee shop and now is helping clean up -all of which were, to his absolute confusion, are his own choices. He could’ve left way earlier right after taking the goddamn bike and leaving the kid back there before he even slipped on the road and before all of this could happen.

But here he is. For some weird-ass reason he still hasn’t left.

He thought and thought about it as he absentmindedly continues his tasks and the more he thought, the more he hated the answers coming up in his mind - he did feel kind of guilty earlier when he saw the kid slip and when he thought of more bad thing befalling the blond just because his bike was stolen, he did feel a bit of pity when he saw the kid walking towards his destination and thought of the guy walking all over town like that, he did feel kind of happy with the short conversation the had earlier about the stars and aliens (he still think it’s kind of funny), and he does feel worried (this is getting weirder) when he saw the blond’s parents leave him to close the shop in the middle of the night by himself and unknowingly also leave him to walk home alone because his bike was stolen (by him and that thought makes him feel kind of bad).

Why is he feeling these things towards some kid he hardly knows? Wasn’t he supposed to be an uncaring asshole? Was he going soft? Was he becoming ‘nice’? Can’t be… this is totally not like him. He’s getting something out of this. He should be or else he wouldn’t be doing it, right? He thought and thought about it - another ‘valid’ reason for him to do all these weirdly uncharacteristic niceness that is totally opposite of what Craig Tucker should be doing.

Then he remembers the smile the blond made when he said he’d accompany him back to the shop, too. That was pretty cute.

Craig bashes his head on the table as hard as he could. What the f*ck was that? Was he becoming gay? What heck is going on in his mind today? Since when had another boy’s smile been ‘cute’? Since when had any person been ‘cute’ to him? Guinea pigs are cute and that’s the only things he’d ever accept as cute, ever.

“Are you okay? What happened?!”

Craig was pulled out of his thoughts when he hears the worried voice of the blond now standing next to him. He probably didn’t hear the kid come up with all his thinking. The boy looks at him worriedly and is staring at his face. With the pain of his actions earlier slowly rising up, he realized he must’ve given himself a bump on the head. He winces as he places a hand on his forehead and pulls back when contact made the bruise sting.

“Oh god! Please wait there!” the boy said as he quickly ran towards the back of the counter. After disappearing for a bit, the blond comes back with a wet cloth and lifts it up slowly towards Craig’s hurting forehead. The tall boy didn’t move and waits until the cold cloth makes contact with the bruise. It hurt at first but the coldness is slowly making him feel a little better. He grabs onto the cloth himself and presses it onto his forhead. The blond let’s go and grabs a chair for him to sit on.

“Are you all right? Do you need water?” the boy asked as he took away the items Craig was using earlier for cleaning.

“No, I’m fine.”

The blond is still not that convinced and continues to stare at him for a while before finally looking up at the clock “I’ll just finish up a bit, okay? You already cleaned up a lot here so I’ll just take care of some stuff back there.”

“Alright.”

The blond goes behind the counter and cleans up there while turning to glance at Craig from time-to-time. He finishes after a while and at the same time, Craig’s forehead doesn’t hurt as much anymore. The blond carries another huge paper bag as he comes up to Craig to tell him he’s done. He puts the cloth back where it belongs after asking the other boy and they both leave the shop together.

The cold wind blows the moment they step out making the blond shiver. Craig looks at him and now wonders why the boy only has a long-sleeved green button up shirt in this cold weather. Without thinking anymore (because he doesn’t like where his thoughts are going), Craig takes of his jacket off and places them on the blond’s shoulder making the other look up at him in surprise. “It’s cold out and you only have a button up. Are you crazy?”

“Well, uh I- I forgot my jacket this morning. I was kind of in hurry.” the boy says, a blush slightly visible on his face. Craig doesn’t ask nor does he want to think about that detail and lets the blond continue talking “And besides, I don’t always feel cold anyways. B-but you… your jacket--”

“It’s fine. Just put it on. I’ll just take it back before we split.”

Craig gets on the bike while the blond locks up. The boy places the paper bag onto the front basket and properly puts on the jacket before getting on the back seat. “My house is just that way. Just follow that road straight down then turn left. My house is just at that neighborhood.”

“Oh…” Craig says as he looks toward the right “I’m going that way, too. My house is a bit far on the right turn.”

“Oh. I-I see.” the blond says as he hold onto Craig tightly. Craig could’ve sworn he heard a tiny giggle but just shook his head. He must be imagining things.

The ride was shorter than the last ones but is just as quiet. When they got to the fork on the road, they both get of the bike.

“What?” the blond asked

“Take your bike.” Craig said, handing the bike’s handlebars back toward the other.

“B-but why? Weren’t you gonna take it?”

Craig sighs, partially embarrassed and partially just tired “I don’t need it anymore. I was gonna use your bike so I could get back home early but all this sh*t happened and it’s already late now. It’s kinda pointless to take it… I mean I got my own bike at home and stuff.”

“I see. I’m sorry.” the boy replies genuinely apologetic as he takes the handlebars.

“Why the f*ck are you apologizing? I tried to steal your bike!” Craig asked as he stared at the strange boy and chuckles “You’re so weird.”

The boy smiles back at him “Yeah, I guess. I get told that a lot.”

“Well, I gotta go--”

“Wait!” the boy exclaims, grabbing onto Craig’s arm. The blond takes off the jacket and hands it back to him “Y-your uh, jacket. You nearly forgot.”

Craig stares at the jacket being offered back to him and takes it “Oh, yeah.”

“And!” Craig puts on his jacket as he watches the boy grab the paper bag in front of the bike “Here. They’re leftover pastries from the shop that weren’t sold. They’re not that warm anymore but they’re still good. I- uh, I made them.”

Craig accepts the bag of goods from the other boy (he fears asking why he’s being given the thing for some reason) “Oh, okay cool. You uh, bake, too, huh?”

“Yeah. My parents give me so much work because they say I have to do my part in the family business. It’s gonna drive me crazy! But I, uh, do enjoy baking so it’s not so bad.” the blond explains as he gets on his bike “Um, thank you for today! I’m sorry about making you go home late and stuff. A-and I hope your head feels better.”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Okay, so uh, good night! Bye!” the blond said as he quickly biked away to the opposite direction.

Craig stands there dumbfounded. What the hell just happened? And did the kid he nearly stole a bike from thanked him? He shakes his head. Thinking about all this would just make his head hurt again. He turns toward the direction of his house and started to walk. Opening the bag, he takes out a cupcake and takes a bite.

“Not bad.”


	2. #2: A Typical and Cliche Sunday Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpectedly meeting a certain someone you've been thinking about on the day you should be resting.
> 
> Typical, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thoughts when I created this chapter is: how many people m I gonna disappoint and wish they never left a 'kudos' on the first chapter?
> 
> Because I absolutely had no idea what to do past chapter 1. I do have ideas now but I don't know if they're good. So, I apologize for any disappointments. And they may be ooc here, too. orz

Tweek sighs as he downed another mug of coffee. It only just been half a day at work but he’s already tired. Not the ‘lazy-tired’ kind of thing but just tired of all this. Emotionally. He can just look outside and see other kids around his age having a fun, stress-free Sunday and here he is at work.

Why did he have to be the kid born to a couple who owns their own shop?

And since it’s a coffee shop, they need to get to work early because most of their customers would be looking for coffee early in the morning. Never mind that it’s Sunday and that it’s supposed to be his rest day - his dad will find a reason or two to have him work any day.

He’s lucky enough to just work at the back room right now. Dealing with other people is too much pressure. At least here he can just do things he’s used to without needing to think too much. He’s been working here for years - four years to be exact, starting when he was 8 and not even counting the years where his parents were teaching him about coffee and work starting at the age of 6. Thinking on it, that sounds messed up but what can he do?

And now his dad has thought of doing deliveries. Having customers just phone them in to order and they deliver it (mostly him unless there’s school in which his dad does it). It sucks all the more, I mean what if he gets lost or gets kidnapped on the way to and from a delivery? What if the guy he delivers to is a criminal and he becomes their next victim? What if he gets the delivery too late and he gets in trouble or worse the guy sues them and they lose their business and they’re forced to live in the streets because of him? It’s all too much pressure!

Luckily, it hasn’t happened yet in the first month that they started this whole delivery-thing. Especially since he was late at two deliveries yesterday but they were nice people and didn’t get mad at him. And it’s all happened because of…

“Gah!” he screams and accidentally throws the broom he was using toward one side of the room which hit a table full of empty cans making a loud noise.

“Is everything alright, Tweek? I heard a crash.” his dad asked as he opened the door to the back room slightly to check inside. Tweek shakes his head and quickly goes to the door to push his father out.

“It’s fine! I just, uh, I- it’s nothing! Just go back out!”

“Are you su--”

“Argh! Yes!” and with that, Tweek shut the door and listens as his father goes back to work and greeting the ordering customers. He sighs and sits on the floor with his back against the door. He still hasn’t told his parents about yesterday - about his bike nearly getting stolen and the boy whose name he forgot to ask. Not like it matters as his parents would be no help at all anyways.

The image of the tall boy in blue jacket and chullo hat entered his mind. He remembers the black locks of hair peeking out from under the boy’s hat, his bright blue eyes - Tweek has to mentally slap himself for even thinking of the unknown boy as good-looking. The guy nearly made off with his bike and even threatened him!

But still…

He went back for Tweek anyways, helped him do the rest of his deliveries and even helped him clean up in the shop late that night. He didn’t even have to! He couldn’t just left Tweek alone and took the bike, he could have left Tweek to get back to the shop and not help Tweek with work. But he did. And gave Tweek the bike back.

Tweek smiled fondly at the memory - no one has ever been that nice to him. Not even his parents who sometimes suck at being parents. He admits that maybe the bar is set too low and he doesn’t have anyone else to compare the boy with but it doesn’t erase the fact that the boy was nice, right? And they even talked a little on the way to the shop! It was one of the reasons Tweek is a bit more sleep-deprived than usual today - other than the large amount of coffee in his system last night, he also spent the night looking at the stars and wondering if the boy is looking up at them, too. It was nice though as for once, it wasn’t scary thoughts and paranoia that kept him awake.

He smiles at that fact. It was pretty peaceful last night as instead of creepy, weird stuff to plague his mind, it was thoughts of one questionably nice boy. But why? Why does he care so much about this guy? Now that he thinks more about it, isn’t it weird? And creepy? What would his parents say if they knew about the things running in his mind all of last night and today? What would anyone else say? What would that boy say?

“Gah! He’d probably get mad and think I’m weird!” he says as he pulls on his hair “He’ll probably think I’m creepy for thinking about him this much! And he’s probably forgotten about me anyways so there’s no reason to think about him, right? And… it’s not like-” _it’s not like they’d ever meet again_. He couldn’t say the rest. Even just the thought of the boy not caring about his existence anymore made him feel sad. He wonders why but nothing comes to mind.

It’s all so strange but still… a part of him deep inside doesn’t want to forget about the second nicest person he’s ever met (his parents being nice to him doesn’t count). The first being…

Tweek thought and thought about it but his head just draws a blank and it gives him headaches. He pulls on his hair again in frustration. Why can’t he remember the face of _that_ person? It’s been years and his memory might have blurred but he still remembers the important parts: It was in town near the coffee shop, he got into a fight and _someon_ e helped him. It was _that_ person.

He just doesn’t remember any face. And the thought frustrates and upsets him.

It’s an important memory to him. But then again, the kid who was with him has a lower chance of remembering him compared to the kid he met yesterday. He doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but he just has to drop it. One look in the room and he remembers he has to continue his work or he’d get in trouble. He’d rather finish all this up now than later.

“Tweek!” his mother calls for him. Instead of running outside, the blond decides to hurry with his cleaning first as he knows whatever this is would probably take up more time. When minutes passed and he still hasn’t come out, his mother finally decided to just go to the back to talk to him “Sweetie, we have another order and your dad is pretty busy. You have to go.”

Tweek groans. He knew it’d be something bad. He finishes off with sweeping and leaves the broom near the closet they keep it in, not bothering to put it back. He walks up to his mom and is given a piece of paper with information on it. He gets his phone out and quickly types it in the notes as the paper might get lost or wet on the way and he’d need another copy. “Just this?”

His mother nods “Yes, just that order for today. I already packed everything and it’s on the counter.”

Tweek takes a deep breath. He’d have to leave for a delivery again and anything can happen. Anything good as well as anything bad. He stares at his mom wanting to complain and say he wanted to stay in the shop this time. That maybe he’d make a mistake this time around that will cost them. But a voice in his head, small as it maybe compared to all the bad thoughts that he has, reverberates in his mind and makes it’s way to his heart.

_‘You can do this.’_

He looks at his mom who is still looking at him, waiting. He shakes his head a little and finally says “Alright, I’m gonna go now.”

He takes the bag, places it on the front basket before unlocking the bike. He stares at the lock and chain for a moment - he needs to buy a new lock. This one was too easy to pick as demonstrated by the cute bike thief from yesterday. Tweek puts the lock and chain inside his pocket and tugs on his hair lightly. He did not just think the boy yesterday was cute. He shouldn’t. He just met the guy yesterday and has just spent less than a night with him and he’s now developing some sort of Stockholm Syndrome with the guy who nearly took his bike. What the f*ck?

He shakes his head and slaps his cheeks with his hands. He needs to focus. He has work to do and has to go now so he can come back quickly and do the rest of his tasks so he can finally finish off for the day. He checks the note again and raises an eyebrow.

Maybe he can just take this slow after the delivery so he can have a bit of time for himself? It wouldn’t hurt right? Not like he’ll get caught up in some stupid and dangerous thing while he’s killing time, right? Actually, scratch all that - he’d just finish this one quickly and get back to the shop where he’d likely be safer.  
With that, Tweek starts pedaling and hurries (as carefully as he can) towards the delivery location.

* * *

 

Craig goes downstairs towards the kitchen to grab some snacks. It’s already afternoon and he’s still in his blue, red racer print pajamas - a typical Sunday morning. It was pretty tiring last night with all that going around town and cleaning. That said, he still wasn’t sure what the heck happened yesterday. Why did he feel so compelled to be nice to that one random kid? He’s still an asshole, right?

“Move, I have to get something.” his sister asks him not-so-nicely as she tries to push him out of the way. He was so lost in thought that he’d just been idly standing in front of the open fridge door. He grabs a soda and moves out of the way and watches as his little sister grabs a bag of chocolates from the fridge before closing it.

“Craig!” his sister, Tricia, scrams out as without warning, Craig quickly dips his hand on the bag and grabs as much chocolate as he can before quickly walking up the stairs “Mom, he took my chocolates!”

Craig smiles and flips her off as he sat on the couch to watch TV, happy that he’s proven (even a little) that he’s still a ‘bad boy’. His sister flips him off in return before deciding to sit at the dinner table where their dad is working on making ships in a bottle. With his mother probably doing laundry, he has the TV all to himself.

“Craig, we still need to talk to you about last night.” his dad said. Craig sighs and lowers the volume of the TV “We know we can’t exactly control where you go all the time but at least come home early. Even though this town is pretty quiet, it’s still kind of dangerous outside.”

“But I’m fine, see?” he says, putting his arms out and waving them to show he doesn’t have any injury.

“You still have that bruise on your forehead.” Tricia happily reminds them to which Craig flips her off again. He’s not explaining what had happened yesterday. It was all too weird and even he doesn’t know how to explain it to himself.

“It’s nothing serious.” he explains “Me and my friends were just messing around like usual and I got hurt. It’s normal.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you were out so late last night.” his mother said as she came out of the basement carrying an empty basket. “Clyde and Jimmy got home in the afternoon and they said you all left the arcade at the same time.”

“Uh I just… took a walk.”

“It took you the whole night?” his mother asked

“I didn’t have money to ride a bus, okay? Sheesh.” he says flipping her off in the end and she does the same. It’s the end of that conversation, thankfully. He doesn’t have to tell them that he went to the pet store again to check out the guinea pigs. After his last one passed away (Rest in Peace, Stripe #3. you will be missed and will always be loved), his parents forbade him from getting another pet as it’s proven to be too much of a responsibility for a kid like him and it’s also pretty expensive.

Once he was at the pet store he couldn’t easily leave. The guinea pigs there are just begging for him to stay - the looks on their cute little faces says it all! His parents would just never understand. If he tells them about it, they’d just quickly shoot him down by telling him he can’t get another pet regardless of whether he actually want to buy one or not. Which he totally does.

He could’ve gotten home earlier yesterday and avoided all this conversation if he was able to get that stupid bike without any trouble. But no - he just had to have a heart that time. He just had to go and help that cute weird boy yesterday. He had no reason to do so but he did. And all he got in return were a bunch of cold but still very delicious cupcakes.

Speaking of which…

“Mom, where are my cupcakes?” he asked. He nearly forgot about them but he hasn’t seen the bag anywhere. He remembers leaving it in the kitchen counter though.

“What?”

“Th-the bag I brought home last night? With the cupcakes?”

“Oh that!” his mother said in realization “We ate them. I’m sorry Craig but they tasted so good. There were only a few left anyways so we ate them. Me, your dad and your sister.”

“What?” he sighs, slightly frustrated. He was planning to eat those! And they were his sort of ‘payment’ for all the work he did yesterday. Oh well, he just shrugged. It doesn’t matter. They’re just cupcakes anyways.

The doorbell started to ring and Craig, not wanting to get up turns to look at his family - his sister is still eating chocolates at the table not giving a f*ck, his dad is still trying to finish another boat and not giving a f*ck, his mom is in the kitchen…

“Oh, Craig could you get that please? I’m kind of busy here. It’s probably my order.” his mom said. And with that, Craig had no choice but to get up and out of the comfort of the couch. “The cupcakes last night were pretty good so I thought we should have some more.”

The words didn’t register in Craig’s mind quickly enough so when he opens the door, a familiar face greets him. “You?”

“Gah!” the same blond boy from yesterday shrieks. He probably didn’t see this coming either “Y-you? Wait… you live here?”

“Well, yeah.” Craig answers, not knowing what else to say. The guy who he spent time with yesterday and who was on his mind almost a whole day is here. Honestly, he shouldn’t even be this surprised. South Park has a way with making sure everything wasn’t as peaceful as you wanted it to be.

“Craig honey, are those the pastries?” his mom asked from the kitchen. She must have been too busy back there to check and turning around, Craig notices that even his dad was too busy to notice what was going on (the tiny ship bottles need that much concentration to finish he supposed) leaving only his little sister who is giving him a strange look. He flips her off and so she gives him once last weird stare before looking back at whatever she was doing.

“Yes, mom!” Craig finally answers

“Could you go get it and take it back here, please?”

He looks back at the boy and after a few awkward seconds of them just staring at each other and away simultaneously, he wordlessly asks for the paper bag by holding both hands out. The blond passes the bag back to him and they accidentally touch fingers. Slightly. But that was enough to make him feel some kind of shock and they both nearly drop the bag. Craig was quick enough to hold on to it again and was able to safely take it back to the kitchen.

“Here.” he said, placing the bag down on the countertop. He sees his mom preparing dinner and realized why she didn’t answer the door. She washes her hand and got her wallet out and handed her son some money.

“Thank you, Craig. Now would you please give this to the delivery…” she steps out a bit to peek at whoever was at the door “boy outside? This is the payment for the order - I already asked them on the phone - and here’s the tip. Please give them to the kid outside.”

“Okay.” Craig takes the money in his hands and carefully fixed it’s position so all the bills are on one side and the coins are on top of them.  
“Hmm… he looks to young to be working already.” he hears his mom comment.

“Their family own the coffee shop.” he couldn’t help but say. His mom just stares at him for a moment and then shrugs and goes back to what she was doing. Craig meanwhile covers his mouth. He’s glad his mom didn’t ask how he has that certain information. He immediately walks toward the door and handed the blond the cash while explaining which ones are the payment and how much is the tip.

“T-thank you.” the boy said. That was the second time he’s heard of those words from this kid but (for some reason) it still makes him happy. The blond places the money in his pocket and was going to leave. Craig notices something and instead of keeping quiet and closing the door…

“Wait!” he exclaims. He just has to say something, doesn’t he? Actually no, he doesn’t but strangely enough, he still did. “You’re uh, not wearing a jacket again.”

“Huh? Oh…” the blond said as he looks down at what he was wearing “I forgot again, I guess. But it’s okay! Like I said, I don’t get that cold easily.”

“Yeah well, you can still get sick.” then Craig remembers something at that moment. Raising his hand in front of him, he gestures for the boy to stay where he is “I’ll be right back.”

“Huh… what--?”

Craig quickly ran upstairs towards his room and rummaged his closet for something. He remembers that it’s still somewhere in here as he doesn’t just throw things away. He smiles triumphantly when he finally finds what he’s looking for. Grabs it and goes downstairs.

* * *

 

Tweek stood outside the house awkwardly. The door is still open so he could see inside the house. The guy he assumes is ‘Mr. Tucker’ (as that was the name written on the note he was given) is at the dinner table doing something with a glass bottle. He couldn’t see Mrs. Tucker as she’s still in the kitchen but a little redhead girl sitting at the dinner table is staring at him. She’s younger than he is and he’s bigger but he can’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable with the stare he’s getting. Did he do something wrong? He’s just here to deliver some pastries.

What if she thinks he’s some kind of bad guy, tells her parents and get him arrested? It’s not his fault he’s still here. I mean, they must’ve heard their son tell him to stay there a bit, right? Where is he anyways? Maybe this is some kind of trap? Should he just leave? The more he thought about it, the more the idea is becoming appealing. He should just go right now. His job here is done anyways.

Before he could go anywhere however, the boy called Craig is back and is handing him something. He points to himself as if to confirm that what’s being given is for him and after a nod from the other, Tweek takes it. Spreading it out using both hands, he realizes that it’s a dark blue jacket - nearly the same as yesterday only a tad bit darker.

“Wear it.”

“What?!” Tweek wasn’t sure he heard it right. He wanted to ask again but Craig has taken the jacket from his hold and walked towards his side to drape it over his shoulders.

“It’s cold out and you’d get sick like that.” the taller boy said as he held one side of the jacket out so Tweek could put his arm on the sleeve. He does the same at the other sleeve. “It’s mine but it’s kinda small for me now. I don’t need it anymore so you can keep it.”

“Oh, um… thank you?” Tweek said, unsure. He stares at hi arms that are now covered in blue “But why?”

Craig just stares at him for a second before putting an arm behind his head and rubbing it “I don’t know actually… I don’t get it either but- Ugh, just take it okay? Stop asking questions.”

Tweek smiles a bit at that. He really is nice after all, he thought and hasn’t forgotten about him like he feared earlier. “Okay, thanks. Is your head okay now?”

“Wha- oh.” Craig automatically placed a hand on his forehead at the spot with the bump “I’m fine now. You remember that, huh?”

Tweek giggles before answering “Yeah. You okay?”

Craig gives a little chuckle before nodding “Yeah, it’s fine now.”

“Okay so I uh, I gotta go. Thanks again.” Tweek said, quickly going towards his bike. He might not want to leave if he stayed any longer.

“Uh, yeah. Bye.” Tweek turns around and sees the boy give him a slight wave. He waves back before biking away.

He takes a breath and smiles. He’s feeling way better now than he did this morning and feels kind of excited. He finally knows the boy’s name: Craig Tucker and now he also knows where the guy lives. Was this important? Would he ever use this information someday? Who knows. He’s just glad he has it right now. That, and Craig’s old jacket.

* * *

 

Craig closes the door behind him. Now that’s over with, he can get back to watching TV. He just hopes no one would ask what happened and why cause he doesn’t know the answer and he’s not planning on finding out what. It was kind of… satisfying though. Why? He’s still confused but at the back of his mind, he feels like he’s forgetting something. It has something to do with this but what? Why can’t he put a finger on it?

“What was that about?” his thoughts get cut off when he hears his sister’s voice. She stood there staring at him and after a few seconds of him not answering, she asks again “Why’d you give him your jacket?”

“It’s none of your business!” he says. He walks past her, turns off the TV and grabs his snacks before walking towards the stairs. He’d rather be in his room than wait until someone else interrogates him.

“Craig.” his sister says. He turns to look at Tricia whose standing on the bottom of the steps and is staring blankly at him. When she was sure she got his attention, she smirks and says “You’re still in your pajamas.”

He raises an eyebrow, confused. “Yeah? So what?” he flips her off before going straight to his room. Once the door is closed, he places his snacks on the floor and sits in front of the TV in his room. So what if he’s still in his pajamas? Who cares? It’s not like anyone important will see him in it--

_“Thank you!”_

He remembers the voice of the blond boy suddenly. He was here earlier, standing at his doorway to deliver food. It wasn’t something he expected to happen as he thought that the first and last time they’d meet is last night when they parted ways at an intersection. Now that he thinks about it, they live in the same town and are probably around the same age. Could that boy be studying in the same school as him?

He should’ve asked that earlier so there’d be no more surprises. He also should’ve asked for his name. The blond probably knows his name now and while Craig still doesn’t know his. He slaps himself for forgetting something so simple. And they talked a bit earlier, too.

 _“You’re still in your pajamas.”_ Tricia’s words rang in his ears. It took a couple of seconds but he finally understood what she meant.

“He saw me in my…” he covers his face in embarrassment “God damn it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this one, too! Hope it wasn't too bad.


	3. #3: Avoiding Friends Lead to Conspiracy Theories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig doesn't want to answer questions which leads to him hanging out with the guy that caused them in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you who read the first two chapters and actually came back for this one, thanks. I don't know why you guys are still here but thanks.
> 
> To those of you who read until here just today, thanks as well. I can't believe you read through all that and are still here.
> 
> Like I said before, I have no idea what to do after chapter 1. I do have something in mind but doesn't know how to properly integrate it into the story but I'm starting to put the pieces in now. It might be cliche and it might be disappointing but hopefully it's not too bad, I guess?

_It’s all so blurry. Where is he?_

_Red… he can see red._

_“Are you okay?” he hears a small voice at his side. He glances to his right to see the person the voice belongs to. His vision is getting a little blurry and all he sees is yellow. The person’s voice sounds like it’s on the verge of crying._

_No, don’t cry. Please don’t cry._

_“I-I’m okay… it’s okay.” he says. He’s strong. His dad says so after all._

_They’d make it… he and ----------------_

…

…

…

The alarm rings and Craig, as sleepy as he is, grabs his phone from the bedside table and nearly drops it. With a firmer grip, he pulls it to his side and turns the alarm off. Craig blinks. What was his dream about again?

He sits up and stretches his arms as he yawns. No time to think of meaningless things as he has to get ready for school. Despite being a delinquent, he does have a dream: to go to space. He definitely can’t do that with failing grades. Besides, passing his tests like he always does feels like a big f*ck you to his teachers who can’t get completely mad at him whenever he isn’t paying attention. After all, he does get good grades (and without cheating, he’d proudly add).

After getting ready, he goes outside to wait for the school bus while his sister walks to school with her friends. He can’t believe he misses those days when the school is closer to where he lives as the Elementary School is just a few blocks away from his home. It was just a walk away and he can leave whenever he pleases. Now, he’s got to take the bus to get to his Junior High and share the same space with a bunch of other annoying kids for a whole ride.

“Morning, dude!” a brunet said in greeting as he stood next to Craig. Another boy in crutches walked up next to them and stood beside the other boy.

“Good morning Clyde, Jimmy.” Craig greeted back.

“G-goo-good morning.” Jimmy said.

When the bus finally came, Craig took a deep breath. He can already hear the loud voices of the other kids inside the bus before him. The trio got in and quickly aimed at the free spot at the very back where they could all sit together. Clyde ran over there first followed by Jimmy who got past the rowdy kids peacefully as they gave him way. Craig followed behind.

“C’mon, Butters. Just lemme borrow it, goddamnit!” Craig hears an annoying voice which he’d like to ignore but sadly can’t.

“Sorry, Eric. I can’t do that. This phone is new and if it breaks, my parents would ground me again.” the blond boy protested holding his shiny new phone close to his chest and away from the annoying fat kid who kept bothering him.

“Leave him alone, fatass!” right on cue, Craig thought. Red-hair really does suit Kyle Broflovski with his fiery attitude. “You’ll just break it!”

“Shut the f*ck up, Jew!” Eric Cartman yells back “How would you know I’d break it anyways? You some kinda psychic now? Got some new Jewish powers?”

“What the f*ck does that even mean? And of course you’d break it!” Kyle said pointing an accusing finger at Cartman “Hold it with your fat fingers and it’s gonna get destroyed!”  
“Who you calling fat?!”

Craig sighs. Why does this always have to happen? It’s really getting on his nerves, these four. Yes, four - right along with the first two is Kyle’s best friend Stan Marsh whose now trying to stop the fight and Kenny McCormick who is just laughing at their actions. Butters could’ve been the fifth as he hangs out with them from time to time. They’ve been his classmates since preschool as was most of the kids inside the bus but these four were actually his friends (he doesn’t have any other closer terms to use). Now if only Craig could get past these annoying kids blocking his path, he’d be able to get to the back and maybe ignore the four loud assholes in front of him.

When he finally got past another kid, he notices Butters uncomfortably sitting on the seat in between arguing Kyle (whose sitting next to him) and Cartman (whose sitting beside him). He clearly wants to leave and sit elsewhere as the fatass still wouldn’t stop harassing him about his phone despite Butters insistently saying ‘no’ and Kyle’s yelling.  
He honestly shouldn’t care but they were getting annoying and he needs to put a stop to their stupidity.

“What’s that you guys are arguing about this time?” Craig asks which got their attention. Cartman was gonna start calling him some profanities but he focused on Butters who stammered a quick sentence about his new phone and such. It was all Craig needed. Leaning down a little, Craig tried to feign interest as he stared at the blonds phone - ‘tried’ since his monotone voice and stoic face doesn’t really show much expression. “Oh, nice phone you got there Butters.” he says as pried it out of the blond’s grip as the latter was caught off guard.

“That’s my phone there. Please don’t break it.” Butters pleaded as he stood up and walked towards Craig. His hands move about worriedly in whichever direction his phone is in on Craig’s hands.

“Ey! Gimme that!” Cartman exclaimed. Everyone else on the bus was quiet, watching the scene unfold.

“Shut up you fatass! It isn’t yours.” Craig said just sparing Cartman a glance. He continues holding the phone up and moving it around as if scrutinizing it “It looks really nice… and expensive, I bet.”

“Y-yeah, my old one broke and I saved up enough for a new one.”

“Cool, cool.” Craig said as he moved the phone around and away from Butters as he continues to ‘examine’ it. In truth, he’s actually looking around for another empty seat which he spots right next to Scott Malkinson. He smirks before throwing the phone away, landing on the seat next to Scott keeping it safe. “Oops.”

“My phone!” Butters exclaims as he ran past Craig to go up to where his phone landed. He grabs the item and sits on the seat where it had landed and lets out a sigh as he checked on his phone and seeing it safe and sound.

“Dude, why’d you do that?!” Stan yells at him “You could’ve broken Butters’ phone!”

“Yeah, so?” Craig says as he glared at the other boy “What’cha gonna do about it?”

Stan gets up ready to fight with Craig but Kyle grabs him by the collar and yanks him away. “Don’t do it Stan! We’re in a bus and this road is pretty rocky.” Kyle explains as he continues to hold his friend back. True enough, the bus is shaking slightly from all the bumps on the road “It’s dangerous. Save it for when you guys get to school.”

“Yeah, listen to your boyfriend.” Craig taunts as he turns away. He could hear Stan’s angry retort but jut flipped the boy off. As he walked past them, he gives Cartman a shove which had the fat boy back on his seat. “Out of the way, fatass.”

He tuned out Cartman’s angry outburst as well and just continued to walk towards the back of the bus which is now pretty easy as the other kids are now giving him a path, not wanting to be the next kid to get Craig’s attention.

He glances to his right to check on Butters who is happily holding onto his phone. The blond then turns to stare at Craig so the latter flipped the bird on him. He knows he could have just punched Butters instead for starting the ruckus with his damn phone but he thought it was better to just annoy Stan and his cohorts. He did it for his own satisfaction, obviously and not for Butters.

Clyde patted his on the shoulder when he finally sat beside him “You okay dude?”

“Yep. Totally fine.” Craig replies as he smiles. Any opportunity to piss of Stan and his gang makes him so happy.

* * *

 

For some reasons Token, Clyde, and Jimmy couldn’t understand, Craig had been a bit off the whole day. Yes, he normally does some sh*tty things and like messing with other kids but he usually does that when something prompts him. Before, during, and after the first couple of classes, Craig had already: tripped two students just walking past his chair, stole and hid a couple of kids’ school supplies as a prank, got into a fight (which thankfully ended quickly before any teacher got wind of it), and now has stolen some snacks from a couple of students at lunch time.

“C-craig… what’s up?” Jimmy asked his friend who sat next to him on one of the cafeteria tables. Right across them are Clyde and Token who were both following Craig with their eyes.

“Huh?” Craig raised an eyebrow as he looked at Jimmy in confusion.

“You’re being weird today, man!” Clyde said looking at his friend worriedly “You okay?”

Craig looked at them both one by one, still confused “What the heck are you guys talking about?”

Token sighed which got everyone else on the table’s attention “Look Craig - we all know you can be an asshole. It’s your thing, we get it but dude… don’t you think you’ve been too much of an asshole today?”

“Really?” Craig asked and when the trio nodded, a smirk appeared on his face. That was what he was going for anyways - to prove to everyone and especially himself that he’s still a bad boy. Something must have just got into him in the weekend. “Nice.”

He’s still normal. Totally.

“Seriously, dude! What the f*ck?” Clyde asked again both confused and worried.

Craig waved his hand “It’s nothing guys! Don’t mind me.”

The others continued to stare at him questioningly. It got to the point that it was kind of unsettling. He knew these guys probably won’t let this conversation slide forever and that changing the subject now would just be postponing the inevitable.

But it’s not like they could break him just like that.

“I don’t know what to tell you.” he says, taking a bite out of a sandwich he took from another student. He then used his free hand to raise his middle finger at them “You guys could continue being weird and staring at me all day if you want. I’ll be eating my lunch.”

The three continued to stare for a couple more seconds before giving up. For now. It was obvious in their faces that this will not be the last time they’d ask him a question. They started eating their own lunch but kept glancing at Craig from time to time while the tall boy continued eating without a care.

When the bell finally rang which signaled the end of lunch break for the day, the four friends split into pairs to go to their respective classrooms. Craig and Clyde went to the room on the right while Token and Jimmy went to the room on the left. As the two pairs said their ‘See you later!’ to each other, Craig’s eyes widened for a second as he caught a flash of messy blond hair in a familiar shade somewhere inside the classroom Token and Jimmy were to go in. It was only for a bit and he didn’t see it properly but it was enough to make him think and distract his thought for almost the rest of the day.

He never really paid attention to others and his surroundings unless something interesting came up like a change in what’s trending or if there was some trouble that he might get pulled in or something. Now though, after that weekend meeting the blond delivery/baker boy, he had been admittedly looking around him a bit more since he got to school. His thoughts of ‘what if they were studying in the same school’ still lingered in his brain and he knew that whether or not he chose to ignore it, if there’s a chance that the other boy might be around, they’d meet sooner or later.

He’d rather not get caught off guard this time, of course.

He continuously tapped his pen on his notebook, lost in thought. That few second of seeing a blond hair got him this preoccupied and upon realizing it made him feel a bit ridiculous. There are tons of blonds in school and it may have not been the boy from before. Still, he can’t help but wonder.

With him too busy thinking things, he hadn’t noticed his friend Clyde giving him weird stares the whole time. The brunet had been his neighbor since early childhood and is also his best friend and as such, the boy noticed when something weird is happening to Craig. He might be slow at times but this is just too obvious that he couldn’t miss the signs. Something’s up and he needs to know.

“Craig!” he whispers, trying to gain his friend’s attention “Psst! Hey!”

When his current actions weren’t getting him anywhere, Clyde decided to try another method. Grabbing a small piece of paper, he wrote a message to Craig and then wrapped a small eraser in the paper and threw it at his friend, hitting the taller boy on the cheek. “Ow!”

“What was that?” the teacher asked, stopping her writing on the board to turn around to look at the room. Her eyes settled on Craig “Do you have anything to say, Mr. Tucker?”  
Craig rubbed the part of his cheek that was hit earlier and answered “No.”

The teacher just let it go and turned back to write on the board again. Craig meanwhile glared at Clyde as he grabbed the eraser from where it fell and took it out of the paper which revealed the message to him.

_‘You’re really being weird, dude! What’s going on?!’_

Craig wrote his reply and discreetly passed the paper back to Clyde. _‘This again? Nothing is wrong and you’re the ones acting weird.’_

Clyde wrote another reply but on the back of the paper this time. _‘Oh yeah? Dude, I know you - your favorite subject is science and yet you’re not paying attention right now. And the topic is space! Something’s definitely going on…’_

Craig scrunched his eyebrows at the message but didn’t make eye contact with Clyde. He didn’t know what else to reply. He might have his poker face down pat but it seems Clyde and his other friends have other ways to read him. He threw the paper back at Clyde without writing a response and flipped him off.

Clyde picked the paper up and wrote one last thing, not expecting a reply from his friend. _‘This isn’t over, Craig. We’re gonna make you talk after school!’_

The taller boy just crumpled the paper and threw it at a nearby trashcan. They can’t make him talk if he doesn’t want to but he knew their efforts at trying would be a pain. He sighed - he still has 2 more subjects after this one and it’s plenty of time to think of what he should do.

After class, Clyde quickly packed his bag and followed after Craig outside of the classroom. The brunet started questioning him despite the message saying that their little ‘interrogation’ won’t be til later. Craig just ignored the former and tried to avoid the sea of students walking down the hallway and coming out of both classrooms at the same time.

While he and Clyde stood at one side of the hallway to wait for Token and Jimmy like always, Craig’s eyes tried to focus on each and every student that comes out of the classroom to the left which is pretty hard as there are a lot of people walking around from different places. When their two friends finally came out to meet them, Craig decided to give up for now. It was impossible to see every single blond that walked around anyways not to mention that the boy he’s looking for is pretty short and it’ll be hard to find him in this mess.  
In the end, Craig followed his friends as they went to their next class.

* * *

 

When the final bell rang, Craig quickly bolted out of the classroom before his friends could finish packing their bags. He isn’t in the mood to deal with them and their questions at the moment. After all, he didn’t have a proper answer to them himself.

He ran down the hallways and passed through a horde of students hoping it’ll at least be able to conceal him. He might be the tallest kid in their grade but there are a lot of older kids here who is as tall or is taller than him. Knowing some other way out of the school by now (well, in the wing most of their classes we’re usually in at least), he was able to leave the building at the backdoor beneath one of the stairs.

When he got out, he was able to breath calmly as there aren’t many students at this side of the school. It’s unlikely that Clyde and the others would think of coming here until later which meant he could make an escape. He can’t take the bus as two of his friends would be there so he’d need another way to get home. Trying to steal another bike isn’t optional this time - he’d learned the first time and doesn’t want to meet anymore weird kids who would make him act weirder.

As he neared the sidewalk, he saw a familiar blue bike on the road and on it is the boy he had been searching for the whole morning. It seems that the blond had noticed him as well since he’d stopped his bike and is staring back at Craig. The blond turned the handlebars sideways and placed one foot off the pedal onto the ground.

“You?” the blond uttered “Wait you-”

“Yeah I study here, too.” Craig cut him off and answered the unspoken question “I kinda figured you’re also studying here.”

“Oh.” the blond giggled a little and gave Craig a small smile. Craig couldn’t help but give a little smile himself as he noticed that the other boy is wearing the jacket he gave him.

“You didn’t forget a jacket this time.” Craig pointed out.

The blond looked down at what he’s wearing and grinned. “Yeah, I didn’t.” he said, finally fully getting off the bike but not letting go of the handle, keeping his left hand on it.

They both let out a little chuckle before lapsing into a bit of awkward silence. They both had known that they might meet in school sooner or later but they never thought of what to do when they have to interact. Craig cleared his throat breaking the silence “So, uh, you going home or do you have work today, too?”

“Work.” the boy replied “I have to help my parents. How about you, aren’t you gonna go home? Are your parents gonna come get you? Cause the bus would probably be leaving soon and it’s at the front of the school.”

“I’m not gonna take the bus today. I’m trying to…” Craig tried to look for the right words cause he didn’t want to come off as weird “I’m kinda avoiding some people today.”

There’s a look of panic and concern in the blond’s face as he heard those words. The other kid quickly looked around worriedly as spoke in a voice laced with terror “W-what… who? Are they kidnappers? Aliens? The FBI?! What the f*ck do they want from you? _Ohmygodaretheyaroundhere?_ Jesus Christ, Gah! We’re gonna die-”

Craig immediately raised his hands and quickly placed them on the blond’s shoulders while trying to calm him down “It’s not that! Calm down, okay?”

“It’s not? Then what were you running away from?” the blond asked, his body shaking only a little bit now as he’s starting to calm down.

Craig pulled his hands away and placed them in his pocket. He looked away awkwardly, staring at anything other than the boy in front of him “Uh, my friends were being weird today and I didn’t want to deal with them, okay?”

“Your… friends?” the blond asked quizzically tilting his head a little to the side “But why would--”

“It’s no big deal!” Craig answered and held out his hands and waving them a little “They’re just asking weird questions cause they think I’m being weird.”

Craig suddenly felt a finger poke his face a little. Looking up, he sees the blond retract his hand quickly and is now staring at Craig with eyes narrowed in suspicion. Holding onto his bikes handlebars, he slowly pulls them as he walked backwards without losing eye contact with the taller boy.

“You’re not the real Craig, are you?” the blond said accusingly

“Excuse me?”

“Craig’s friends think he’s acting weird so it must mean you’re not the real Craig!” the blond shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Craig “Who are you?!”

Craig rolled his eyes and walked towards the blond “Jesus Christ! I’m Craig, dude! What the f*ck made you think I’m--”

“Stay back!” Craig has to step back a little when the blond took out a ruler and pointed it at him like a weapon “If you are the _real_ Craig and your friends have nothing to be suspicious about, you wouldn’t be running away. But you are so that means you’re hiding something… you’re a fake!”

The tall boy placed a hand on his face to rub on his forehead. This is getting ridiculous. And he thought he was going crazy but then this kid gets crazier. Taking a deep breath to ready himself, he takes a step forward and puts both hands up in the air to show he has nothing to use to hurt the other boy and isn’t going to try to “Look man, it’s not like that at all. See? I’m real and I’m not some guy wearing a skin suit--”

“Gah! A skin suit!” the blond shook as he panicked more than he did earlier as if some shocking revelation has just been thrown at him. It made him drop his bike and is now frantically pulling on his hair. “I thought it was just mind control but a skin suit! Agh!! You’re an alien!”

“F*cking hell…” Craig sighed. This is becoming dumber by the minute. He admits, embarrassingly, that the boy in front of him is cute but it’s just a shame he seems to have some screws loose. Craig quickly closes the distance between them and grabs onto the boy’s hands to get it off his hair. When he saw a few strands of hair still clinging to the boy’s hands after he pulled them off, it made him worry - the kid’s grip on his own hair was strong enough to pull hairs out. Craig internally hopes the kid doesn’t do this often. The idea somehow worries him.

“T-that’s why you we’re laughing before about alien abduction and stuff… you want me to stop believing cause it’s true!” the kid is now hyperventilating and it’s making Craig panic, too “Are you going to kill me now that I know the truth? Are you _gah!_ \- gonna take my skin off and use it as a suit like you did with the real Craig?!”

“F*ck no! Dude, listen carefully okay?” Craig stared at the boy straight in the eye, hoping he doesn’t look like he’s glaring. He doesn’t want the blond to panic anymore than he already is. When he was sure the blond was paying attention, he said slowly, calmly in a nice tone (as nice as Craig Tucker can sound) “I’m not an alien, okay? I’m really a human, I mean look at me - do I look weird to you?”

The blond’s eyes trailer from Craig’s head to foot before looking back up to his face. He slowly shook his head and answered “Well, no…”

“See?” Craig smiles a little, hoping it calms the blond “It’s okay, you’re okay. It’s gonna be okay. There are no aliens who would hurt you okay?”

_“Cause I ---------”_

_“Promise?”_

_*static*_

_“Yeah-”_

Static… it feels like he could hear static. In place of actual words. He could hear voices but can't make out half of what’s being said. The missing words sounding like static. Trying to figure it out makes his head hurt. But what could they--

“Craig!” the tall boy finally snaps out of his weird trance. Looking up, the blond looks down at him with concern. He realizes he’s now on his knees holding his head while the other boy is holding onto him so he won’t fully collapse.

“Are you okay? Gah! I-is it the aliens?”

If it wasn’t for the slight headache, Craig would be laughing. The kid still hasn’t let go of his alien theory. He took a few breaths hoping it would help make him feel a bit better. Looking around him, he notices other kids passing by who probably got out of the front of the school and walked back here to get places. They were staring at him weirdly so he glared at them and flipped them off making them look away.

Rumors are gonna start flying before tomorrow even comes. That is, if no one was filming this weird sh*t. Curse the fact that everyone’s got a phone. Now he really won’t be able to hold off Clyde and the others from asking tomorrow.

He and the other boy finally got up. He dusted himself off as the other continues to watch him worriedly. It made him feel… happy? It might be that, he honestly don’t know but he certainly feels better knowing someone cares about him right now. He also feels bad as this was the opposite of trying to calm someone down.

“I’m okay. I just had a little headache and no, it’s not because of aliens.” he explains. Now that he thinks about it, what was that earlier? He heard… voices? It was blurry, it was distant like a far off memory but he just can’t exactly remember what. He shakes his head, it doesn’t matter right now. He continues before the other boy gets anymore strange ideas “And my friends think I’m being weird because I was being extra sh*tty rght now.”

“Oh, okay…” the boy said hesitantly and looking down on the ground before looking back up at Craig “So it’s not aliens?”

Craig couldn’t help but chuckle at this point “Nope! No aliens.”

The blond sighed “Thank goodness!” and finally smiled again.

Craig couldn’t help but look away. He hopes to God he isn’t blushing right now. That would be embarrassing. When he looks back up, the blond is already getting up on the bike again. “Wait, uh--” then it hit the dark haired boy, he forgot to ask again.

“Huh?”

“What’s…” Craig hesitated a bit. They had talked for a while and the blond already knows his name but he still hadn’t asked until now. How embarrassing. “What’s your name? I keep forgetting to ask.”

The blond’s eyes widened in realization “Oh uh, I’m Tweek Tweak.”

* * *

 

Tweek blushed and smiled slightly as he rode on his bike. He hopes his companion (or anyone else for that matter) wouldn’t notice. Craig is with him again but unlike before, the roles are reversed with Tweek driving the bike and Craig holding onto him with arms wrapped around the blond’s waist. Tweek’s not gonna lie, he’s really enjoying this (for some reason because why would he enjoy this, that’s just so weird).

Not that he’s gonna tell the dark haired boy.

Craig had explained to him that he didn’t ride the bus today to avoid his friends and that since he doesn’t have a ride home anyways, he’s just gonna kill time walking home because two out of three friends are his neighbors and the later home he get the less likely he would have to confront them. (Craig even turned his phone off just in case they were smart enough to just track him down. Why would they go that far?, Tweek doesn’t know.)

So now, Tweek had suggested Craig help him with work (if he wants to, of course) to pass the time and they’d just go home by bike like before. Craig surprisingly agreed and so now they’re on their way to the coffee shop.

“So, the coffee shop is named after you?” Craig suddenly asked.

Tweek slowed his pedaling so that the wind won’t muffle their voices too much “What?”

“Your name… ‘Tweek’. It’s spelled with two Es, right? Same as the shop.” Craig pointed out.

Tweek groaned “Ugh, more like the other way around.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“What the f*ck, man?”

“I know, right?!”

Their conversation went on like that until they got to the shop. Tweek parked his bike near the side of an alley and chained it to a post connected to the shop itself. As Tweek was locking his bike, Craig was looking around while waiting. “Oh.” he heard Craig mutter.

“Huh? You say something, Craig?” Tweek asked as he shoved the key to the lock inside his pocket. He followed Craig’s stare and saw Bijou Theater.

  
“Nothing. I just remembered that we went here once to watch a movie when I was really little.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Well, shall we go? Your parents must be waiting for you.”

“Right.” Tweek said with a voice that clearly says ‘I don’t like this but I gotta anyways’. They both entered the shop with the blond in the lead. Looking around, there aren’t many people in today. Must be cause it’s Monday and people are either at work (or still coming home from work) or at school. Tweek felt relieved as it means less work.

“Tweek! You’re finally here, son.” his dad said as he served a customer while glancing at back at him “You’re a little late today but it’s fine. There are work that needs to be done so you better hurry along.”

Tweek grimaced but he hurriedly went towards the back of the counter to greet his mother who gave him a quick hug “Hey, Sweetie! Who’s this?” she asked as she stared at Craig.

  
Tweek internally panicked. He kind of rehearsed this part in his head earlier while they were still on the way to here but he’s still worried about his weird parents’ reaction “Oh uh, ack! T-this is Craig. Gah! He’s my friend!” he blurts out. He still doesn’t know exactly what he and Craig are but he hopes the dark haired boy doesn’t mind being introduced as a friend.

“Good afternoon, Mr. And Mrs. Tweak.” Craig greeted them politely and didn’t say anything in denial about Tweek and him being friends. The blond wondered if it’s because they are friends (which is good) or if the taller boy thought it would be beneficial to have him be thought of as a friend than as just some random guy who wants a job (which made Tweek feel kind of down).

“Oh, hello Craig!” his mother greeted Craig back. She doesn’t seem to be mad which made Tweek calm down a little “Honey, Tweek brought a friend!”

“Well hello there, Craig!” his dad greeted Craig as well in a voice that sound like it’s trying to be kind but doesn’t really feel like it. Like a front shown to other people. Tweek slightly panicked at the implication of this. “It’s so nice to know that our son has a new friend but it’s no time for play right now. Tweek has to work.”

“Gah! He’s here to work!” Tweek suddenly exclaimed, getting both of his parents’ attention. He hopes his parents don’t just drive Craig out after they came here a long way. He was looking forward to spending time with the taller boy, too.

Mr. Tweek’s ‘polite but obviously fake’ smile is gone and replaced with a disapproving frown. Tweek felt like crying “Hmm… well, it’s nice that your friend wants to try and work while he’s young but you know were not hiring, son.”

“It’s just for today.” Craig explained “I just want to know how working for real feels like. I promise I won’t be trouble. It’ll make Tweek’s work faster.” he added at the end hoping it works. Tweek looks up to his parents with determination. If Craig is this adamant then he’s not giving up either.

And it seems to work as Mr. Tweak seems to be considering it “Well I guess that would help. Finishing early on his other chores means he could help us out if we need him to deliver something later. Alright, I’ll let you work here for today.”

“Thank you!” Craig replied as enthusiastically as possible.

Tweek smiled happily as he hears his dad’s approval. His eyes went from looking at his dad to staring at his mom to see her reaction. Tweek was expecting either approval or disapproval but it was neither. She looked rather confused? Perplexed? She was staring at Craig strangely as if she’s trying to find something.

Before he could ask, his dad had told them to hurry up which made Tweek quickly drag Craig towards the back. When they finally shut the door, Tweek couldn’t help but break out a smile as he stared at Craig. He’s gonna hang out with Craig the rest of the afternoon! Work suddenly doesn’t seem as boring or as annoying as it usually does. He wants to feel this way even just today.

He hands Craig a spare apron and they both worked at the back cleaning up while chatting. When they were done (quicker than when he does it alone), his dad had them wait tables and go on two deliveries (a trip which they tried as much as they could to lengthen before coming back so they won’t have to get more work – it was Craig’s idea).

They cleaned up when they got back and Mrs. Tweek suggested they have take-outs for dinner inside the closed shop and insisted that Craig join them saying that their son’s new friend should have dinner with them to Tweek’s embarrassment. When the pizza arrived, they sat at two separate tables close to each other with him and Craig sitting right across each other.

“So, when did you and Tweek meet exactly?” his mom asked Craig. Tweek worried about how Craig would answer this. They can’t exactly tell the truth.

“Huh? Oh, the other day when he uh, was making deliveries…” Craig tried to say but he couldn’t form the words very well. Before he could say anything more (that could lead to him saying the truth), Tweek had decided to speak.

“He helped me out cause I kind of got lost after the first delivery I made.” Tweek said confidently (or at least he hopes that’s how it’s coming off) “He went all over town with me to get deliveries done.”

“Oh, that’s nice. I’m glad you found a nice friend to hang out with.” His dad said “He is a great help for the coffee business. But we still can’t really hire you ‘cause we aren’t looking for new employees.”

“That’s fine. I was just looking for experience.” Craig replies

“So you two only just met the other day?” his mom asked again looking a bit surprised.

“Um, yeah. Oh, and we’re studying in the same school, too!” Tweek happily added “We don’t really have classes together and we only found out today.”

“Hmm… I see.” She said and went back to eating. Tweek thought it was weird but didn’t ask.

“What happened to those other friends of yours you used to hang out with?” his dad asked “I don’t really see them anymore.”

Tweek groaned. He hadn’t hung out with those guys in a while as they stress him out with their weird antics “Stan and the others always get themselves in trouble so I don’t really like hanging out with them anymore. They nearly got us killed this one time-“

“Oh, I see. Reminds me of my friends back in the day – we used to do a lot of stupid things too as kids.” his dad says like it’s a fond memory “There was one time we tried making a rocket car made of wood and with that a ramp to use in onto.”

He stops there and continues to eat. Tweek knew nothing more would come up but Craig being new to this asked “Then what?”

“Then what’s what?” his dad asked in confusion.

“Ugh, he’s asking what happened to the rocket car!” Tweek exclaimed, annoyed that his dad does this all the time. He also knew what his dad would be saying next would annoy him, too.

“Oh, we didn’t get to make one. We couldn’t find the right parts.” His dad answers and went back to eating again. Tweek just buried his face in his hands “Would you like some coffee, son? How about you, Craig?”

“Um, no thanks.” Craig replies as he raises his plastic cup with soda in it “I’m good.”

When they finished dinner, they closed up shop and as they finished earlier than usual that Tweek is able to get the car ride home with his parents who said they’d drop Craig off, too. Craig looked happy that he not only got paid but is gonna be driven home as well (which in turn made Tweek happy and relieved. He worried before when Craig had to go home alone when they parted ways the first time).

The whole car ride, the two chatted at the back but not too loudly as Tweek didn’t want his parents hearing. “I’m sorry about my weird parents. Especially my dad! He always does that.”

“Does what?” Craig asked

“The whole ‘telling a story with no proper ending’ thing.” He explained “He always does that and it never helps. He does that when I ask for advice and I don’t know why. I just tune it out when he starts cause it’s just annoying.”

“I see. Thanks for earlier by the way.” Craig says with a smile “You know, for not telling your parents what I did the other day.”

“No problem. You did help me out though.”

“I tried to steal your bike.”

“You accompanied me the whole afternoon and I was able to do stuff without panicking a-and you lent me your jacket. You even helped me clean up!” Tweek lists off one by one. He doesn’t want Craig to think that badly of himself as he did help. “Plus you didn’t steal my bike in the end. You’re really nice.”

“What? No, I’m not. I’m an asshole.” Craig said frowning “Just ask people in school. Some of them ought to know me and they’d tell you!”

Tweek just giggled. How bad could Craig really be?

When they got to Craig’s house, the taller boy thanked Tweek and Tweek did the same with promises that they’d meet tomorrow in school again. “Wait! Can we exchange numbers? Gah! _Imeanifyouwant!_ You can say ‘no’ if you don’t want to-”

“Here.” Craig hands him his phone and Tweek gave him his. “I want to.”

They both saved their own numbers on each others’ phones before returning them. They happily said their goodbye and Tweek watched as Craig went back inside his house. As they drove back to his own house, Tweek felt somewhat sleepy and calm. It was pretty weird as he’s usually panicky but he wasn’t the rest of the afternoon. It was weird but he knew it was cause of Craig. He didn’t understand why though but he’s not complaining.

While he thought more about it, he fell asleep at the back as he clutched his phone close.

* * *

 

The Tweak’s finally arrived home. Mr. Tweak carries his sleeping son towards his room as his wife follows. After finally tucking their child in (they were happy that Tweek was able to actually sleep this time so they didn’t wake him up to brush his teeth), Mr Tweak looked at his wife, puzzled.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Mr. Tweak asked “You’ve been quiet all day.”

“Hmm Sweetheart, doesn’t Craig seem familiar to you?” she asked him back.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know but it’s just that it felt like I’ve seen him before. I just don’t remember where…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie - I worked on this really late at night and then fixed things a bit this morning. There might be some misspellings here and there so if you find any, please tell me so I can fix it.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far. Hopefully I can write more chapters so i can finish this off because I honestly don't want to add another pile to my unfinished multi-chapter works.
> 
> If you guys want to read actual good stories though, I do have a fic recommendation list made right here (I'm still adding more to it): https://ichika27.tumblr.com/funficfeature
> 
> Not all of them is Creek or South Park but it's written in the side what fandom/ship they belong in.


	4. #4: First Meetings and Mini Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek makes new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to finish this fic off in at least, what - 5 chapters? But the more I work into each chapter, the longer things get. Ugh, this is pretty cliche slice-of-life stuff. Editing on here is a pain, too. I already had this thing fixed in MS Word and it apparently can't copy-paste the italics and sh*t. I gotta look for them now. T^T
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy this sort of uneventful chapter.

Craig knew the inevitable was coming the next day when he woke up. He was acting weird yesterday and his friends had noticed. He ran away from them which reinforces their belief that he was hiding something. He can’t just not go to school so there’s no way avoid them for today - after he ran off yesterday, they’re surely more on guard now.

Then there’s his parents who had been worried about him yesterday. It was normal for him to not come home early whenever he pleased but they always assume that he’s with his friends and he hadn’t gotten to (very serious) trouble when he was with them yet. And since his parents trusted Token who they know is responsible enough to drag them away if what they’re about to do is ‘Stan Marsh’-level reckless, they usually don’t ask questions.

But when his friends had apparently showed up in the Tucker residence’s doorstep yesterday asking for his whereabouts, they got worried.

It didn’t help that Clyde had to run his mouth too far and mentioned how he was ‘acting weird and much worse than usual’. Now even his parents think something was up. Thankfully it was just _‘think’_ and not _‘know’_ cause those two are different levels of serious. He told them he tried a part-time job (“Just for one day, I’m not gonna drop out!” he even adds) cause he wanted experience as he needs money for something. (He didn’t specify what that something was since he didn’t know either but his parents just assumed ‘new pet guinea pig’ like it was super obvious. But since they had mentioned it, he now plans to save up for a guinea pig. Not his idea, theirs.)

But with both his friends and his parents questioning what was up with him lately, he knew he has to come up with either an elaborate lie - which wouldn’t end well as he is a terrible actor and it’s definitely something Stan and his gang would do and he won’t dare go that low - or finally figure things out himself so he can explain properly because trying to do so right now would make things more complicated.

For now though, he has to endure the stares of suspicion from his friends as he sat on the bus.

“Come on, Craig! What the f*ck is going on?” Clyde kept nagging him the whole time as they sat at the very back, no doubt getting the attention of the people on the seat in front of them “Tell me, dude! I’m your bestfriend, aren’t I?”

“Y-yeah, Craig. You gotta tell us a-already before we get ideas.” Jimmy says which Craig can’t deny is right. He has to tell them before they start getting weird ideas. Not as weird as being mistaken for a skinsuit-wearing alien but since this is South Park, anything can happen the strangest ways possible and things can blow out of proportion.

Remembering Tweek’s weird outburst yesterday is funny though. It might have been kind of irritating yesterday but now that he thinks about it, it was so ridiculous that it’s starting to come off as a joke. He couldn’t help but giggle.

Sh*t.

“Why were you laughing?” Clyde asked, with voice laced with more suspicion than it did earlier. Goddamn it.

“Yeah Craig… w-what were you th-thinking, huh?” Jimmy asked as well, eyes narrowed. They’re both staring at him now and it’s getting annoying and uncomfortable.

Not able to handle it anymore (Clyde’s face was getting closer and closer to his, as if seeing his face up close will give him the answers he needs), Craig finally pushed the two away gently and let out a huff “Alright! I’ll tell you but you gotta wait. I don’t want to talk about it here and if you two want to know then Token also does so it’s better if we’re all together.”

“We can just text it to Token--” Clyde tried to suggest to which Craig quickly cut him off.

“No! You might get something wrong and it’d cause misunderstanding. I’ll do it myself.”

“But you might run off again!”

“I won’t.”

“You p-promise?” Jimmy asks to which the two stare at him again

“Yes, I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Tweek felt like he woke up on the right side of the bed this morning - he wasn’t feeling sleep deprived, he wasn’t feeling tired and panicky, and better yet - he’s feeling really happy.

Just remembering yesterday and hanging out with Craig Tucker and he just automatically feels like smiling. He wonders why. Normally he’s paranoid of anyone and anything around him. Heck, even his long time friends Stan and Kyle freak him out at times (although he admits that maybe it’s more because they usually do things one has to worry about) but Craig Tucker was different. Sure he’s still kind of paranoid around the boy (never know what he’s thinking or what he’s about to do) but the latter is able to calm him down shortly after and even make him smile which is weird. Definitely weird.

But if it makes him feel better then what’s there to complain about?

He’s happy at the thought that he may be able to meet Craig in school today now that he’s confirmed they do go to the same school. Craig told him yesterday that he’d introduce him to his friends, too which makes him feel both nervous and excited. It’s gonna be an interesting day for sure but he has this weird nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he’s missing something.

As he picks up his lunch and coffee-filled thermos from the kitchen’s counter top and shoves them inside his bag, he suddenly realized that since he doesn’t share a class with Craig, he’d have to go to the cafeteria today and eat there. He sighs - he avoids going to the cafeteria as he worries that they might force him to eat school-cooked lunch and he doesn’t know what’s in that thing. For all he knows, it might be toxic or a mind-control soup that brainwashes kids into submission. He usually just eats inside the classroom or outside in the yard.

But if he wants to meet up with Craig, it’s a risk he’d have to take.

His dad drops him off at school on their way to the coffee shop. He took out his bike from the trunk and went off to park it where the other bikes are. Upon locking it, he thinks to himself again if he should buy a new lock or just keep it at that. After all, Craig was the only one who tried to steal it and he knew the boy wouldn’t try again (At least he hopes. They’re friends now and it’d hurt him if his new friend tried stealing from him).

As he walked through the school’s parking lot, someone suddenly bumped into him.

“Oops! Sorry about that.” the tall black kid in a purple sweater said to him apologetically. He recognized the kid as a classmate he has in some of his classes. Token Black if he wasn’t mistaken.

Tweek slowly replies with a “I-it’s fine.” but didn’t miss the strange stare the boy was giving him. Token was eyeing him not from head to toe but his eyes are still running everywhere and it seemed to be on his outfit. Is there something wrong with what he’s wearing today? Looking down at himself, he sees his usual ensemble: green dress shirt with long sleeves and black pants. He’s also wearing the blue jacket Craig gave him. He looked normal today (he hopes) so what’s up with this kid?

Before he could worry about it, the tall boy apologized once more and went on his way. It was a weird encounter and it didn’t take long before his mind starts to wander towards the more worrisome, most bizarre kinds of thought that only weird conspiracy theorist could think of. So much for a fun, paranoid-free morning.

 

* * *

 

Craig couldn’t concentrate in class the whole time. Not like he focuses on studying unless it’s a lesson he actually likes but his friends sat next to him and they’ve been glancing at him from time to time as if they expect him to disappear suddenly when they’re backs are turned.

Jesus, they’re probably ready to tackle him if he pulls another escape like yesterday.

So when lunch break finally comes in, he sits on a far away table with them for a bit more privacy and readies himself for what he knows would be an embarrassing and confusing confession ever. His friends would laugh at him after this, guaranteed.

“Okay so where should I start this…” he mutters as his friends ate their lunch without breaking eye contact with him. Lucky bastards. He wish he could eat without a care in the world at this moment but knowing what he has to admit right now also meant that he has to solve the weird crisis he’s been having for days and that can ruin an appetite.

“Just start in the beginning dude, it’s fine.” Token said “Just take a deep breath and calm down.”

Craig chuckled at that moment. He usually has to tell Tweek the same thing when the latter starts over-thinking and panics. And now Tweek is kind of the reason he’s feeling that way. The irony.

He does as he was advised anyways, taking a deep breath before recounting the incident he himself started last Saturday afternoon - from the bike stealing to meeting Tweek yesterday and working at the shop. He didn’t mention the Sunday morning thing (it’s kind of embarrassing) and didn’t give them a name. He didn’t need them prying more into it. Not right now. He’s still thinking of a good way to introduce Tweek to them without things being weird.

In the middle of his ‘story-telling’, he glares at the others who are obviously trying their hardest not to start laughing. They’re so close to failing, mind you and Craig really wants to punch them in the face - especially Clyde who really can’t keep a straight face. Best friend be damned, he was trying to put his heart out here! It’s not a ‘Craig Tucker’ thing to do but they’re his friends and they should be thankful!

“So uh, yeah, I uh… got a new-” Craig paused to clear his throat both from still feeling awkward and from talking for too long (he’s not normally a chatterbox, after all). He adds at the end quietly and quickly the word “friend.”

Before Clyde could burst out laughing and Jimmy give a comment, Token beat them to it and raised his hands to quiet them down for a moment before asking “Is he blond?”

Craig raised an eyebrow. What’s that got to do with anything? But it was a simple question so he didn’t think much of it and answered “Uh, yeah…”

Clyde finally let go of the laugh he’s been keeping inside of him that quickly got the attention of a lot of students in the cafeteria to which Craig stood up and gave all of them a collective middle finger which they knew means ‘F*ck off!’ and went back to eating and ignoring their table.

Jimmy laughed as well but with lesser volume than Clyde.

Token chuckled and said “Damn, Craig. You’re so easy to read.”

“What? What the f*ck are you guys talking about?” he asked confused and irritated. What the hell do these guys mean exactly?

The three stared at each other for a moment before laughing again as if they got told the funniest joke ever. Token stared at him for a while before wiping a tear from his eye “Jesus Christ, dude! You really don’t notice? Dude, you totally have a thing for blonds.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah dude, you totally do!” Clyde says in between laughs to which Jimmy gives an enthusiastic nod.

“I do not!” Craig vehemently protested.

Token gives an exasperated sigh and looks at his with the patience of a mother trying to explain to her ignorant child about how the world works “I thought you were doing it deliberately and knew but dude, you like blonds. You’re an ass to everyone but you’re less of a douche if the kid is blond. In fact, you’re nicer to them.” the boy then rubs the back of his head “Well, as nice as Craig Tucker can be with a person.”

“You got it wrong. I’m totally not--”

“You are! Remember when you just threw Annie’s doll across the playground back then while you ruined the other kids’ things? Like, you tore books apart, muddied robots and toy cars and threw balls past the brick wall towards the street. But you don’t destroy or ruin things if it belongs to a blond.” Clyde recalled

Before Craig could get another word in, Jimmy spoke “A-and you helped B-butters yesterday at the bus.”

“I was messing with him! He’s showing off his new phone and Marsh and the other assholes were being loud--”

“Nah, it was o-obvious you felt bad for him a-and did that so he’d sit far away from Ca-cartman and the others.” Jimmy replied “If it was another-another kid, their phone would’ve been broken by now, too.”

“How can you be sure?” Craig asked “Besides, those things don’t prove anything--”

“Thomas.” Clyde says and the whole group looks at Craig again. “Remember Thomas, Craig? You made friends with him and you had no reason to.”

“Ugh! He was cool! He can swear in class and not get in trouble.” Craig explains like it’s the most obvious thing “I’d like if I can do that too and thinks it’s awesome how he could, okay?”

“Yeah sure but Craig - ” Token says to him which got his attention again “No normal person asks someone to be their friend and offers to do their laundry. That’s weird sh*t dude.”

“Yeah!” Clyde chuckles “It’s flirting! A weird, awkward, and borderline creepy flirting!”

Craig could feel his face heat up and he won’t be surprised if it was red at this moment “It was totally not flirting!”

“Y-yes it is.” Jimmy replies “You’re just really t-terrible at being social and all s-so it was the best you could uh- do.”

“You guys are being stupid. I was not flirting back then and I don’t have a ‘thing’ for blonds like you guys are trying to insinuate.” Craig says crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking away with a glare “You’re all crazy.”

“Last question.” Token says not in an ‘I’m asking you for permission’-way and more ‘I’m gonna ask anyways whether you like it or not’.

Craig sighs and readies himself for whatever question is gonna be thrown at him this time. He takes a sip of the juice he’s bought just to emphasize that he’s not gonna give a sh*t whatever they’re gonna ask him.

“Is the blondie Tweek Tweak?”

Craig spits out his juice as quickly as Tweek’s name is mentioned. Wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket, he stares at his friend dumbfounded. Clyde looks confused and doesn’t seem to know anything while Jimmy’s eyes were wide with surprise at first then smiles as if he just confirmed something.

“H-how did you--?” those are the only words Craig could mutter that moment. Token looked so confident that he can tell bluffing won’t get him anywhere.

“He shares the same class with me and Jimmy.” Token explains. Craig then remembers seeing a glimpse of the blond in the classroom his two friends was in and realizes he was right. Token continues “He’s usually jittery and kinda panicky in class so he’s not exactly a forgettable person and he usually wears dress shirts and pants like he’s not living in a cold place like South Park.”

Craig gulps. He knows where this is going.

“But yesterday, he seems to have a new article of clothing on him.” Token looks at him with confidence like he’s a detective who finally cracked a case and is interrogating the suspect fully knowing the whole truth “A blue jacket.”

Clyde gasped dramatically and covers his mouth while Jimmy grins as he gives Craig a _‘Caught you!’_ look.

“So what? Could be anyone’s jacket.” Craig knew it was futile but he’s still taking any chance he gets.

“Nah dude. It’s totally your jacket.” Token explains “We’ve been your friends for like, forever dude! Not at the ‘super best friend’-level Stan and Kyle have but close enough. You always wear your stupid blue jackets. Every. Single. F*cking. Day. I think we know what it looks like by now and don’t say it’s a coincidence because I passed by Tweek this morning and checked - the front still has that faded but obvious if you look at it stain from when Clyde accidentally hit you with the tacos he was eating a few years back.”

“Ugh, damn it.”

“Wait… so it’s true?” Clyde asked excitedly “So this Tweek really is the guy Craig likes?”

“Hey-!” before Craig could say anything, Token quickly cuts him off.

“Yep! It seems Tweek Tweak is the guys our dear friend Craig is falling for.”

“He-he grows up so f-fast!”

“Shut up! It’s totally not like that!” Craig says in protest, throwing his empty and crumpled paper cup towards the others which missed “I give a guy my old jacket and I’m suddenly into him. What kind of logic is that?”

“I dunno, Craig.” Clyde says accusingly “I mean, even you can’t explain your own feeling properly and with everything you told us, it does seem like you do like this guy. I wanna meet him!”

“Maybe we can invite him to lunch.” Token said with a smile

“No, you won’t!”

“Yes, we would!” Token points towards his right, a few tables away from them “He’s right there after all. Hey, Tweek!”

“Gah!”

Craig can’t mistake that scream. Tweek’s totally just right behind him. God damn it.

 

* * *

 

Tweek clutched his bag tightly as he walked towards the cafeteria. He’s still thinking twice about this after all, Craig didn’t exactly invite him to eat with them. Not directly at least. He only asked why they never meet at the cafeteria all this time and says they should eat together sometime but never specified a ‘when’. Oh god, what if Craig gets mad at him for showing up all of a sudden and embarrassing him in front of his friends? Oh god, that’s too much pressure!

He could still back out but seeing as he’s already in front of the cafeteria doors, he has no other choice. Lunch break will end soon and he can’t just go on without eating. So he takes a deep breath and enters, looking around to find Craig in the crowded cafeteria. Some of the kids stares at him and he worries that they’re gonna try and kill him then and there so he hurries up his strides thinking the faster he walks, the faster he finds Craig or if he doesn’t find the tall boy then he could leave this place as there’s no reason for him to be there longer.

He soon finds Craig with his friends at the far end of the cafeteria though. They seem to be discussing something. Craig seemed to be too preoccupied to notice him coming closer and when he’s finally two tables away from the group, Token notices, points toward him before waving his hands and calling out “Hey, Tweek!”

“Gah!” Oh god, why did he call him out? And now they’re all staring at him (and not just Craig and his friends, he notes, but everyone else in the cafeteria). Jesus Christ what did he do? Maybe they found out he and Craig are friends now and doesn’t like him and they’re planning on an ambush! What if they’re planning to poison him or something? Or worst: what if this was all part of Craig’s plan and he was just being nice to him so he could kill him later?

Lost in thought, Tweek didn’t notice when Craig walked towards him until the tall boy took him by the hand and lead him towards their seat. “Hey, Tweek. Uh, my friends wanted to meet you. Sorry if they’re weird.” he says as he and Tweek walk towards the bench he was sitting on earlier.

Tweek was getting nervous as Craig’s friends eyed him. Looking around the room, he noticed that a lot of the other kids are staring at him. What and why the f*ck? What did he do? What was happening? What should he do now? Damn it, he knew going to the cafeteria is a terrible idea.

“Tweek, you already know Token and Jimmy, right?” Craig asked him to which he nods and replies that he knows them from class. Craig then pointed at the brunet boy in red next to Token “Okay, uh, this is Clyde-”

“His best friend!” Clyde interjects making Craig glare at him which he ignored “Hi Tweek, I’m Clyde!” the boy said in a friendly but slightly excited tone. It’s friendly but it makes Tweek all the more suspicious.

“Um, uh… Nice to meet you?” that wasn’t supposed to come out as a question but it did cause he’s just confused right now to be honest. It doesn’t help that they’re all smiling strangely at him. It was weird. No one gets excited to see him except his parents when they need him to work at the shop or Cartman who needs him to do some sh*t he knows is gonna end badly - f*ck, it’s why he stopped hanging out with those crazy idiots in the first place.

The only reason anyone would like to see him is if they need something from him. Is that it though? These guys need something. But what? Are they gonna make him their slave? Make him do a dare? Which is it? The suspense and the pressure is killing him! He reaches out to pull on his hair again. Damn it, this is too much pressure! He really should have never gone to the cafeteria.

He feels hands pulling his own away from his hair, stopping him from pulling at the locks. He stares at the owner and sure enough, Craig is there looking at him worriedly. He turns to look at everyone else at the table and they have on their face similar looks of confusion and worry.

“Calm down, Tweek. It’s okay.” Craig said trying to reassure him. It took a few seconds just staring at the tall boy and thinking about it but Tweek finally let the other put his hands down.

“You okay, dude?” Token asked in concern

“D-did we say something wrong?” Clyde asked as well with worry in his voice or possibly guilt.

“You p-probably freaked him out or some-something, Clyde.” Jimmy said making Clyde look more worried.

“What?!” the brunet exclaimed

“Yeah, Clyde! You totally freaked him out!” Craig said, his voice still nasally and near monotone but the anger and worry in his voice is noticeable.

“I did? Oh, Crap…” Clyde then looks at Tweek apologetically “I’m sorry, Tweek. I didn’t mean to scare you or anything, okay? I didn’t know what I did though…”

“You were being too overly enthusiastic.” Token responds “He’s kind of jumpy in class - no offense Tweek…” he says the last part glancing at Tweek before looking back at Clyde “So he probably thought you were being weird and suspicious.”

“R-really? Was I?” Clyde asked, looking at Tweek for clarification. It kind of made Tweek feel bad as the brunet probably was being friendly and he just overreacted.

“K-kind of…” he answered but raised both hands in front of him and shook them frantically “B-but it’s okay! I’m just not used to people being like that around me. I uh, don’t really have many friends. I-I guess I got like, uh… 3? So it felt unusual for me to have this conversation. Gah! Ugh, this is so awkward. I’m sorry!”

“No, no it’s okay!” Token told him reassuringly.

Clyde on the other hand looked quite sad as he looked at him “Just 3? I’m sorry dude, bu that sucks! It’s okay though 'cause you got us now!” he said smirking and pointing towards their whole group proudly.

It took a couple of seconds before the words registered in Tweek’s brain “Wait, what… really?”

“Well, yeah.” Craig replied “You’re my friend and they’re my friend so you’re part of the gang now.”

“C-congratulations, dude!” Jimmy said happily “Glad to have another audience.”

Tweek looked at Craig confusedly and the tall boy gave him a quick explanation of “He does comedy and usually practices jokes on us.”

“Yay! We got a new friend!” Clyde beamed

“Welcome to the group.” Token said last with a short clap.

“Be nice to him okay? And don’t be weird and freak him out again, Clyde!” Craig reminded them.

Tweek couldn’t stop smiling as he watched the friendly banters and exchanges in front of him and it warms his heart knowing that he’d be part of this soon. They seem nice now compared to what he thought of them earlier. He has gotten to be friend with Craig recently and now he has 3 more.

The rest of the school day should have been fun and exciting, having new friends and all - he happily walked with Token and Jimmy to the classes they all shared together, too.

But then some things really just had to happen and to him, that thing comes in the form of a scrunched up paper ball thrown at him from the side which made him squeak in surprise. Turing his head to find the culprit, he went face to face with Stan who urged him to look at what’s in the paper with gestures.

“Oh, Jesus!” he mutters under his breath as he picked the paper up from the floor and discreetly opened it in between pages of his open notebook on the desk so the teacher wouldn’t see. He can already feel that this isn’t gonna be good before he even opened it and it filled him with dread when he finally did read what’s inside.

_‘We need to talk later. Meet us after school!’_

The blond slammed his head on his desk. He still gives a friendly greeting to them when they pass by each other or a simple nod but Tweek doesn’t hang out with Stan and his friends anymore. They can be nice at times but Tweek knew they must be partially insane - almost everything they did was crazy enough to get them in trouble or they would somehow become one for one reason or another. It’s bad for his anxiety and too much pressure.

They didn’t mind that he stopped hanging out with them though as they only had him to fill in for Kenny when he got sick for a while (he thinks, he doesn’t really remember why the other blond disappeared for a while) but now they don’t need him anymore. Whatever prompted this now and why, he doesn’t know and he wishes he never has to find out but he can’t escape this. He just has to get this over with now.

And so, after school is over for the day, he had told his new friend to wait for him a bit because he has something to talk about with his other friends. He sees Stan and the others waiting for him down the hall and as he excused himself, he could see Craig glaring at the other group.

“If they give you trouble, tell us okay?” the tall boy tells him and he just nods. It made him wonder if there’s something between Craig’s group and Stan’s.

He quickly walks over to the other group and he gets pulled away to a corner.

“Tweek, why are you hanging out with Craig and those guys?” Stan asked him, annoyance noticeable in his voice.

“Yeah, don’t you know that those guys are bad news?” Cartman adds and Tweek talked himself out of replying with a _‘So are you guys!’_ he didn’t want to make this talk longer than it should be.

“What are you guys _\- ack! -_ talking about?!” Tweek asked. Craig and the others were nice to him and he doesn’t completely understand what the deal is. Sure Craig tried to steal his bike but he didn’t do it in the end and even helped him out.

Could it be they’ve done much worse than just stealing before? Jesus, he hopes not.

“They’re bullies, Tweek!” Kyle replies “They beat kids up and steal their lunch money and stuff!”

Kenny mumbled something as well which he understood as ‘They get into fights and get sent to detention, too!’

Tweek momentarily froze, his eyes darting left and right as thoughts wandered into his head. Was that why people were staring earlier at lunch? Well, honestly now that he thinks about it, he should have known with Craig trying to steal his bike and threatening him before but they couldn’t be that bad, right? Maybe his earlier belief that they were lying and just waiting to beat him up were true? Oh god, that’s bad.

“Are you listening, Tweek?” Stan asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts “They’re bullies. You’re not a bully are you?”

“What? Jesus, no!” Tweek exclaimed

“Then you should stop hanging out with them.” Cartman said and everyone nods with agreement (even Kyle, to Tweek’s surprise) “If you do then soon, you’re gonna be getting in fights and stuff.”

They do have a point. Being with bullies mean that you’d be categorized as a bully, too. He’s gonna get pulled in to fights he had nothing to do with. But still…

“Why are you guys _-ack!-_ telling me all this stuff?” Tweek asked. He hadn’t hung out with them in a long while and the last time they were together, he walked off and told them they were too troublesome.

Cartman placed a hand on his shoulder which made him flinch “Because, Tweek, were your friends and friends watch each other's backs.” he said with an overly concerned voice that Tweek can tell was fake.

“Yeah! So are you still gonna hang out with them now that you know all this?” Stan asked him, still kind of angry but his voice had a hint of confidence in it, probably thinking Tweek would agree with them.

The blond thought about it - should he stop hanging out with his new friends who are trouble-making bullies? Or should he listen to his old (maybe still current?) friends who had done crazy, unpredictable, and potentially life-threatening shenanigans.

The choice is obvious.

“Yeah, they seem nice.” Tweek answered finally which shocked the others “Craig isn’t so bad. I-I mean he even gave me his jacket--”

“So that _is_ his jacket!” Stan exclaims in a _‘I was right!’_ -tone.

“Dude, I thought it just looked like Craig’s jacket but it is his…” Cartman said, circling him or to be specific, at the jacket “Wait… ooh are you dating him?!” he asked excitedly which is weird to hear.

Tweek blushed furiously at the insinuation “No! W-we… I Gah! We’re not like that. Oh god, we’re just friends and he’s just being nice, okay? He _-ack!-_ was worried I was cold and gave it to me.”

“He did?” Stan asked in disbelief and confusion. Was it really an unlikely thing to happen?

Tweek nods “Yeah. A-and we just met a few days ago. And he’s not gay! Uh, I think…” Is he? Tweek nearly smiled at the thought that maybe he is but it got dampened by the thought he is not - which is more likely.

“But--” before any of them could say another word, they heard someone yelling the blond’s name. Tweek jumped a bit and they looked over at the direction of the voice.

Right behind him, a few feet away is Craig Tucker who is slowly walking in their direction looking kind of pissed. The tall boy grabbed him by the wrist and looked at him calmly even for a bit and said “Come on Tweek let’s go. You got to go to work, right?”

Tweek could only nod as Craig turned to look at Stan and the others again. Before dragging him away towards his own group, Craig raised a middle finger on them and left with Tweek in tow. As they walked away, Tweek could hear Cartman and the other mutter words of annoyance directed towards Craig.

When they finally got back to Clyde and the others, Craig finally released his hold on the blond’s wrist and asked rather incredulously “Your friends with Stan and those assholes?”

“Gah! W-well yeah. They let me join them somewhere in grade school when Kenny got sick and they needed someone to fill his spot.” Tweek explained and made a confused expression “Didn’t I tell you I was friends with Stan before?”

Now it was Craig’s turn to look at him with a puzzled expression “You did? When?”

“When you ate dinner with me and my parents at the shop, remember?” Tweek recounted “My dad asked me why they weren’t visiting anymore and I said it’s cause Stan and his friends are kind of crazy?”

Craig places a hand on his forehead as if he’s suddenly got a headache “Oh, that… I thought you meant some other Stan. So it really is Marsh you’re talking about.”

“What did they want though?” Token asked the blond which had everyone else in the group looking at Tweek also waiting for an answer.

“Oh, uh, they _-ack!-_ They were kinda also asking why I’m friends with you guys.” Tweek replied, the irony of the situation not lost on him. Instead of telling them of what Stan and the others said, he chose to ask the obvious thing “Do you guys… like, hate each other or something?”

Everyone looked away and scratched their heads not knowing what to say exactly. They too seem to be confused as they can’t even start a sentence. Clyde was the first to break it “Not exactly? I mean, we do hang out sometimes…”

“Y-yeah. We play games with them with s-some other kids.” Jimmy says

Craig then adds “We do but they’re usually up to something crazy and we don’t want anything to do with them anymore. We only hang out with them when it doesn’t look risky. Those assholes got me into a lot of trouble before.”

“True. I think we all have some crazy story involving them.” Token adds “But other than that, Craig and Stan are kind of rivals and as an extension, our group, too.”

“I agree with them doing crazy things. That’s why I don’t really hang out with them anymore but Kyle and Stan aren’t that bad. Gah! Are you mad at me for still being their friend? I don’t hang out with them b-but I still talk to them sometimes.”

“Of course not!” Craig answers “Just, when something happens, you gotta side with us.”

“What? What do you mean by _‘when something happens’_? Gah! That’s too much pressure!” Tweek panics and was close to pulling on his hair again but Craig stopped his hands midway.

“Calm down, dude!” Clyde says with both hands up trying to calm the blond “We just meant if we’re playing dodge ball or something, you group with us and not them.”

“Like sports?” Tweek asks. Sports are okay, he thinks. At least it’s not an actual fight they we’re seemingly implying.

Token answers, eyes not meeting his and a finger scratching his cheek as he says in an uncertain tone “Yeah, usually that. Don’t worry too much about it.”

“Gah!” Tweek knew it totally meant a ‘fight’. He should’ve known - they were bullies after all and it’s them against some other crazy kids in the neighborhood.

“G-guys, schools been over for a while now.” Jimmy reminds them “Isn’t Tweek gonna-gonna be late for work?”

“Darn, you’re right!” Token exclaims “And you guys will miss the bus!”

“Crap!” Clyde screams as he runs down the hallways. The others followed but walked instead.

“If you guys missed it, I’ll ask my parents to give you all a ride.” Token tells them which left the rest at ease. He and Jimmy walked in front while Craig and Tweek were behind them.

Craig suddenly grabs hold of his hand to pull him closer to the others and says “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

Tweek blushed as he thought about what Craig said but more importantly, he felt like something inside him just _clicked_ after hearing those words. He doesn’t know why but it felt familiar somehow. Unable to think of why, the blond shook his head and smirks at his tall companion “Hey, don’t underestimate me. I can fight, too you know!”

“Really?” Craig said half amused and half surprised

“Yep. I took boxing when I was little.” Tweek said proudly “I haven’t done it in a while due to work but I can still do it.”

“Cool...” Craig mutters under his breath and a huge smile forms on his face “Show me sometime?”

“Sure!”

Clyde, Jimmy, and Craig didn’t miss the bus but Token insisted they ride with him in the car so they can all spend a little more time with Tweek before the blond’s shift as they gave him a ride, too. They spent the ride to the coffee shop chatting.

 

* * *

 

Is it a nightmare? He can’t really say. It doesn’t exactly feel like one but it doesn’t feel like a dream either. He can remember fear. Pain. He can remember hearing someone cry.

_“I’ll protect you…”_

Could it be a memory?

Craig can’t tell and when he wakes up, he forgets it all again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading if you got this far!
> 
> The whole 'others give you warning about someone befriending you' happened to me before. I just thought it fits here. XD
> 
> If you guys want to read actual good stories though, I do have a fic recommendation list made right here (I'm still adding more to it): https://ichika27.tumblr.com/funficfeature
> 
> Not all of them is Creek or South Park but it's written in the side what fandom/ship they belong in.

**Author's Note:**

> This should have a couple more chapters like, 2 or 3, I guess. Hope that wasn't too bad? I had to write this chapter a bit longer because the initial idea was too short. Thank you for reading this nonsense, by the way! I appreciate it.
> 
> Anyways, editing the stuff already fixed in MS word is a pain in the ass.


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